Saving Siri
by Accio Flaming Stake
Summary: Harry and Hermione try to bring Sirius back, but the process is messed up, and now they're back in the time of the infamous Marauders. What happens when feelings spring up inside two boys for Hermione that weren't meant to happen? SBHGRL. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1: And So It Begins

A/N: Hello all, and welcome to Accio Flaming Stake's spifftacular story! Now, usually I tend to believe that Sirius found love in his time with people from his time, but I just thought I should give a go at the second best there is: Sirius and Hermione and Remus triangle. I hope I don't disappoint you with how I write Harry and Hermione. It may not seem it, but they may be the most difficult to write. I mean, there are five bloody books written about them, so we know exactly how they act. Which is unlike the Marauders, where there is a limited amount of information on themselves. ... All right, enough of me rambling. Now, on with the show!

My first disclaimer: I do not own anything J.K. Rowling does.

**Chapter 1: And So It Begins**

It was the summer after Harry Potter's Fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had already spent four tedious weeks at the Dursleys. He kept in close contact with his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. He was allowed to owl his friends (and they to him) as long as it didn't give any information away. Hermione, in particular, was very helpful. She had grown more than a friend over the month, even though Harry and Hermione never actually saw each other.

Once Dumbledore gave him the okay, Harry was whisked away to Grimmauld Place. He had thought that spending time away from the Dursleys would have been great, until he stepped into his past godfather's old house. Then memories of Sirius came flooding back.

Harry, at first, didn't seem to be as talkative towards everyone, including his friends. Then he started to lock himself up in his room, pouring over the past events. He continued to sit up there for two days straight. He had no contact with anyone, and no food to eat; nothing to do except sit and think. That is, until Hermione Granger spoke her mind.

"Don't any of you think that we should get Harry out?" Hermione asked loudly during dinner one night. Everyone, which included Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Charlie, Bill, Percy (he came back to Dumbledore's side), Fred, George, Ron, Tonks, and Remus, all turned their heads towards her. "Well?" she asked impatiently. If she was standing, she would have put her hands on her hips and tapped her toe anxiously.

All remained silent until Remus spoke up. "I think, Hermione, that you're right. He has been up there for a really long time…"

Everyone murmured in agreement.

"I vote 'Mione to talk to him," Fred said at last. George sniggered while everyone else just glared. But Mrs. Weasley spoke up in concord.

"Yes, dear," she said, "I, too, think it would be best. Unless you want to join her, Ron?"

Ron, who had been quietly trying to scarf down his chicken, looked up. "I think just Herm should go." He looked at her apologetically. "You're good with feelings and stuff."

"Fine," Hermione said huffily. "I think I'll go now." She started to pile on some chicken and mashed potatoes onto her once-empty plate.

"Hermione, I don't think you're going to be _that_ long," Ron said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "This is for Harry," she said hurriedly.

Hermione raced as fast as she could without spilling any contents off the loaded plate. She quickly found Harry's room on the third floor. She looked around and spotted a table cluttered with a plethora of snake decors. She set the plate down on the nearby table after shoving a quite disgusting looking snake figure aside.

"Harry, open up, it's me," Hermione yelled through the closed door while rapping on it with her knuckles.

All she received was silence.

"Harry, you _know_ I can break through this door. Wouldn't it just be better if you invited me in?"

Hermione heard a grunt through the door and then a pair of dragging feet. The next moment, the door creaked open to reveal a figure that made Hermione gasp out loud.

Harry looked, not to mention felt, dreadful. He hadn't any sleep at all, so there were heavy bags underneath his eyes. Since he hadn't anything to eat in almost two days, his face was gaunt and through his baggy clothes, he seemed skinnier than ever. He hadn't bothered with changing clothes, therefore he gave off a stale odor. His glasses were knocked askew and his hair messier than usual.

"Merlin's Beard, Harry," Hermione breathed, "you look awful!"

Harry just chuckled heartlessly.

"I mean…" Hermione started apologetically.

Harry held up his hand to signal for her to stop. He turned around and walked back into his room, to sit down again. Hermione had the impression that he meant for her to follow, so she grabbed the plate of food and rushed inside. She shut the door behind her and sat down opposite of Harry on his bed.

"Is that," Harry rasped. He had to clear his throat to speak, though it looked painful. "Is that for me?" he asked, pointing to the plate in Hermione's hands. She nodded and held it out for him. He hungrily grabbed it and started to shove the chicken down his throat.

After a few long minutes, Harry sat back and stared at the left over bits of chicken. "You know, we gave Sirius this same kind of chicken over a year ago…" he said, mostly to himself.

"Harry, you know you can't blame yourself for his death," Hermione said quietly. "He's in a better place now."

"Is he?" Harry asked angrily. "We don't know. We can never contact him, never talk to him, ever…"

"I know, but you have to believe he's some place good."

Harry stayed silent for awhile. "But don't you ever wish…"

"Yes, I do," Hermione finished quietly. "All the time."

"Arg! It's just not fair!" he yelled out.

"I know, I know." Hermione slid closer to Harry and put a comforting arm around his shoulder. "But think about it, would Sirius want you to hide away just because of him? He would want you to carry on with life, wouldn't he?"

"But—"

"He would want to you carry on_ with him still in your heart_."

Harry sighed and leaned his head against Hermione's. "You're right…as always."

"Good," Hermione said, standing up quickly. "Now, get changed and, please, take a shower." Harry raised his eyebrow. "You really do smell bad. Then come downstairs, all right?"

"Yes ma'am," Harry joked, giving her a salute.

Hermione grinned before clearing out of his room, empty plate in her hand.

* * *

After a week, Harry was back into the swing of things. He joked around with Ron, helped with the cleaning, even bought a few of Fred and George's joke shop items. He did feel bad about not being able to visit their shop, but the twins would sometimes bring some free samples to Grimmauld Place.

Hardly anyone, except Ron (who tended to be Captain Oblivious when it came to emotions), could avoid seeing Harry and Hermione growing so much closer. The two were scarcely found apart. They spent almost every night just sitting by the fire place, talking deep into the starry night. One day, Ginny walked into the kitchen to find Harry kissing Hermione on the cheek. Ginny found this excellent, for now she could tease Hermione about something other than her studies.

One day, Harry was stuck with the job of clearing out and cleaning one of the many studies. He started on a very elegant old desk while Hermione was making lunch. He opened up the top wooden drawer to find a numerous amount of quills and parchment. But among the dust-coated papers and an envelope that didn't seem under a few months old. Upon the front of the envelope was the most curious thing: Harry's name.

Harry ripped the paper out of the drawer and tore it open. Inside was a quite lengthy letter… from Sirius.

_'Dear Harry,_

_'If you are reading this, either I have died or you have sneaked past my high security system (which is just me). I just wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you and all you've done and been through. I just wish I could be there with you. And I know you want me there right beside you._

_'And I can, with your help._

_'Deep embedded in this drawer is a magnificent little gadget that my parents kept for quite some time. It had two functions: one can sort of time-traveler and the other helps bring back "a beloved lost one." It takes a lot of power and love to bring them back. Now, I would be more than willing to let you use this to bring back your parents, but it wouldn't work. The person must have been dead for only a short amount of time. If one of your friends didn't make it out of the battle, I understand you wanting to save them instead._

_'To use this Life-Alter, you need to perform the Andormiens Curse but say the name of the deceased one at the end while twisting the green side twice. Do not twist the black side. That will send you back in time and you do NOT want to do that._

_'I hope this proves useful. _

_With all my love, _

_'Snuffles'_

Harry re-read Sirius' letter two more times. He jumped back next to the desk and dove his hand deep into the drawer, but found nothing. He desperately pulled the drawer a little farther, but did not succeed in finding anything other than quills and parchment. There was an oddly placed small piece of paper propped up to where the letter was originally placed. On it in Sirius' handwriting was:

_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!_

Harry had to smile as he reached his hand back inside to feel his fingertips close around a hard, smooth-surfaced triangular prism. He pulled it out to have a look at it.

The miniscule object could easily fit inside Harry's closed fist. One end was colored bright, Slytherin green while the other was deep, endless black. The center was transparent, as it was made of glass.

He stared at the magical item for what seemed like hours rotating it between his skinny fingertips. He was too busy gazing at it with glazed over eyes that he didn't notice someone enter the room.

"What cha' got there, Harry?" Hermione asked cheerfully with a tray in her hands.

Harry slowly turned around, still with a blank face.

"Hermione…" Harry said. His face started to clear up, as if he was just realizing what the letter had meant. "We're going to save Sirius."

* * *

A/N: Good? Bad? Did I get everyone's personality right? Now you know I won't know unless you review me so… REVIEW!

Oh, and for the next chapter… it might not be so lengthy. Harry and Hermione WILL travel back in time by the end, I promise you.

Note as of January 3, 2005, **The**** chapters get much longer than this very soon. So bear with me here, for the short chapters do get longer.**


	2. Chapter 2: Ow! Uh oh

**A/N: **I'm waiting for Sirius Black to come over so I can learn the Memory Charm to use on J.K. Rowling. Until then, I don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Ow! Uh oh…**

Harry was sitting down on an old, dusty trunk with his head in his hands. He had just explained to Hermione about Sirius' letter… twice. Harry could handle a lot of things: his parents' death, being ridiculed by half of the wizard population, even Voldemort returning, but Hermione's pacing was sometimes too much.

"So let me get this straight," she started while circling Harry's trunk, "you found a letter from 'Sirius,'" she used quotations on his name, which made Harry raise his eyebrows. "Well, we don't know for a fact that it's really his letter!" It could be a forgery of some sort."

"He signed it with his pet name!" Harry explained louder than needed. "He left the password that only the Marauders knew of! How else could you explain all that?" Harry asked defiantly.

"Dark wizards can be very shrewd and cunning, Harry," Hermione stated matter-of-factly. "All I'm saying is that we should be careful."

"Of course," Harry said like a child, "I wouldn't do anything rash or something… So when can we start?" he said enthusiastically.

Hermione stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "First, we need to find out to perform this Andormiens spell. I've heard of it before, but I never tried it out."

"Andormiens, huh?" Harry said, trying to remember if he had heard of it before also.

But as soon as Harry said 'Andormiens,' there was a shifting noise to his left, even though Hermione was on his right.

"What the?" Harry said, whipping his head around to see where it was coming from. The next thing he knew, a book was being pelted at his face from the bookshelf. Before he could do anything, it hit his forehead and knocked him off his trunk.

"Oh bloody hell!" he yelled out from behind the trunk. Hermione came rushing to his side, but he had already started to stand up. "It's all right. I'm ok." Harry rubbed his head while stiffly walking over to the now-stationary book. On the cover was the title '_Dark Magic No One Remembers.'_ He looked at Hermione and after getting the okay, he reached down and picked it up. Inside the front cover was another note.

'_Hey Harry,_

'_Did you like that spell? I made it so that when a certain word is repeated three times, this book is unveiled. I hope it didn't hurt anyone. I was in a rush when I put the spell on it.'_

"Yeah, no one got hurt all right," Harry said sardonically. Hermione walked over to Harry and read over his shoulder.

'_Inside is the spell you need for the Life-Alter. I hope it works out for you!_

'_Snuffles.'_

Hermione grabbed the book viciously from Harry's hands. "Ah ha! Here it is!" she yelled out seconds later. "Andormiens. Says here, oh."

"What?" Harry asked fretfully. He had grown to hate that word 'oh.'

"It's a… really easy spell," Hermione said breathlessly.

"Well, that's good," Harry said suggestively.

"But," Hermione continued. "It must be performed on the first quarter moon." (A/N: I hate how it's always the full moon, so I decided to make it different).

"When's that?" Harry asked.

"If I'm correct—"

"Which you _always_ are."

"It's tonight."

* * *

"All right. Ready?"

"Ready when you are," answered Harry.

It was close to midnight and everybody, except Harry and Hermione of course, had gone to bed. Harry was pacing around with his wand in his right hand and the Life-Alter in his left.

"Go. Start," Hermione commended.

Harry inhaled sharply and turned towards Hermione. Since it was a powerful spell, they decided to do it together, so they would have a lesser chance of messing up. Hermione grabbed a firm hold on Harry's upper arm. Their wand hands shot straight out so the tips were two feet away from each other. Both started to move their wooden wands in two slow circles. Abruptly, they swished their wands and shouted, "Andormiens!"

Neither noticed a crack from outside the door.

By this time, Harry was violently shaking; partially because this spell took a lot of control and energy, but also because he was anxious. He would be seeing his godfather again!

"Sirius Black!" he yelled out.

He started to twist the Life-Alter while Hermione was still firmly grasping his arm. The moment he went through rotating once, the door burst open.

Fred sprang into the room like a tiger, closely followed by George.

"Oy, I told you somebody was awake—." Fred was cut off abruptly.

Harry, who was already twittering like a bug, had jumped in surprise at the booming sound of the door. His hands accidentally slipped and twisted the black end of the Life-Alter. He and Hermione disappeared with a faint pop!

"Jeez," Fred mumbled to George, "if those two wanted to be alone, all they had to do was ask." George nodded in agreement before they Apparated back to their rooms.

* * *

A/N: Dun dun dun! So… do you think it's good enough to review? I just want to thank my entire total of FOUR reviewers. You all rock! 


	3. Chapter 3: Introducing Mr Thewler and Mi...

A/N: Thank you all of my reviewers! You guys are great!  
  
As you all know, I don't own Sirius (or anyone else)... for now. *mischievous smirk* and now for the main course!  
  
* ~UPDATED, MAJOR CHANGES NEEDED FOR CHAPTER 5 ~ *  
  
Chapter 3: The Beginnings of Mr. Thewler and Miss Snicket  
  
"James, what's our next move that will end us up our beloved detention list?"  
  
Pause. "You know what, Padfoot? I don't think we have any."  
  
"For the time being," Sirius added impishly.  
  
James and Sirius were walking down a deserted corridor. The next moment a loud crack sounded at the end of the hall. Two human figures just appeared about twenty feet above the ground. James and Sirius looked at each other before they ran down the corridor to catch the two falling figures.  
  
James got to the boy first. He was extremely light even though he looked like a sixth year. Once James set the boy down, he took a step back in utter disbelief. There, in front of the Marauder, was a boy who could pass as his twin: same height, same bony yet quite fit structure, and same untidy jet black hair.  
  
Sirius, on the other hand, had caught someone totally different. In his muscular arms was an attractive yet booky-looking girl around the age of sixteen. He grinned at the tighter uniform and the shorter skirt she wore. Sirius made sure she was conscious before he stood her up.  
  
"Are you okay?" Sirius asked in a concerned tone.  
  
The girl, Hermione, put her hand on her head, feeling a bit faint. "What? Oh, fine... Where are we?" She had not yet looked up at the boy who had caught her.  
  
"Hogwarts, the finest wizarding school there is," he said proudly.  
  
"Hogwarts?!" she cried out. Her head shot up to meet a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes. "SIRIUS!" she shrieked. She threw her arms around him.  
  
"I see my reputation precedes me." He threw an arrogant smirk at James, who had finally ripped his eyes away from Harry to roll his eyes at Sirius.  
  
Hermione took at step back and stared at Sirius in complete disbelief.  
  
"What?" Sirius asked indignantly.  
  
Hermione just shook her head. "Never you mind." She turned to Harry. "Ha—er, you." Harry raised his eyebrows but let her continue. "We need to see Dumbledore. Ooo this is awful."  
  
They nodded and started to walk down the corridor.  
  
"Wait up!" Sirius said. He trotted up behind Harry and Hermione with James walking up behind him. "How do you two know Dumbledore?"  
  
Harry and Hermione looked at each other. Harry decided to take a leaf out of Fred and George's book. "Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies."  
  
"Well, can you at least tell me your names?" Sirius pushed.  
  
"What were you two doing so close to Dumbledore's office anyways?" Hermione asked, trying to delay Sirius' question as long as possible.  
  
"We were just talking with him," James said.  
  
"About some prank we pulled," Sirius completed.  
  
"I don't understand why everyone's upset."  
  
"Some students look better with horns on their head."  
  
"Just shut up and give me the password," Hermione snapped once they reached the familiar phoenix statue.  
  
"Whatever you say, milady," Sirius purred. "Sugar quills," he said loudly.  
  
"Thanks, we'll be back," Hermione said. She and Harry silently walked into Dumbledore's office, leaving behind a slightly confused, but mostly interested Marauders.  
  
Inside, they waited outside the main door to the Headmaster's office.  
  
"Harry, you seem quiet," Hermione said gently.  
  
Harry had to think of how to respond. "How else am I supposed to feel?" he asked in the same faint tone. "I just met my dead father and godfather. I'm apparently in the same time as the Marauders... and my mother."  
  
"It's going to be all right, Harry," Hermione said soothingly. "We'll get through this together." She entwined her fingers with his before knocking on the Headmaster's door.  
  
"Come in."  
  
Harry and Hermione entered through the grand doors to look at an equally grand room. In the back was a slightly younger Dumbledore sitting at his desk.  
  
"Can I help you?" he asked politely.  
  
"Er... I don't know how to say this, Professor," Harry started. He took a deep breath. "But we're from the future."  
  
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, but other than that, looked quite placid at this fact.  
  
"See, my name is—"  
  
"No," Dumbledore said urgently. "Don't tell me anything of the future. One name can disturb your entire life. No, no... oh dear." He continued to gaze at the opposite wall pensively. He looked up sharply. "How did you get here?"  
  
"By using a Life-Alter," Hermione said promptly.  
  
"Adequately named, that item is," Dumbledore said mostly to himself. "May I see it?"  
  
Harry nodded numbly and walked over to the headmaster. He pulled out of his pocket the dark magic item.  
  
"Thank you, m' boy." For the first time, Dumbledore looked straight into Harry's face. "You look extraordinarily like a student of mine here. Related perhaps?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Perhaps."  
  
"Good," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "That's exactly what you need to do. Do not give any hints of the future." He then spoke to both time-travelers. "I am sorry, but your Life-Alter has diminished. It is an ancient artifact and was a little rusty when you used it, probably."  
  
"Is there any means of getting back to our time?" Hermione asked feebly, dreading the answer.  
  
"I'm afraid there isn't," Dumbledore said, sounding completely sincere.  
  
"Well, what about a Time-Turner?" Hermione suggested. Harry perked up until Dumbledore shook his head.  
  
"I am afraid that Time-Turners are only meant for a short time travel. And by your appearance, you don't seem under ten years in the future."  
  
Harry and Hermione looked quite downhearted. "So how will we get back?" Harry asked after a long, strenuous pause.  
  
"You can always use another Life-Alter, though they are extremely rare."  
  
"What's the shortest possible wait?" Hermione asked.  
  
Dumbledore's eyes lost their twinkle for a moment. "It takes usually seven to ten months."  
  
"So what happens now?" Harry asked.  
  
"You are always welcome at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said kindly. "I assume you are sixth years?" Both nodded. "Well, we can either have the Sorting Hat sort you again, or you can be placed in your original houses."  
  
"If we may, Professor," Harry said, "we would like to stay in our old house: Gryffindor."  
  
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Now I cannot have you giving your real names to everyone because, if I may say," he stared straight at Harry, "you know someone from this time, don't you?"  
  
Harry nodded. "Quite a few, actually."  
  
"And am I guessing that one of them is James Potter?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So how about you are James' second cousin once removed on his father's side?"  
  
Harry stared at Dumbledore.  
  
"Better to make it more distant," Dumbledore explained simply. "Now, what's your first name?"  
  
"Harry."  
  
Dumbledore paused. "How about Harry Thewler?" Dumbledore turned to Hermione once finding confirmation in Harry's eyes. "And you?"  
  
"Hermione."  
  
"Hermione Snicket perhaps?"  
  
"Hermione Snicket," Hermione repeated. "I like it."  
  
"You two are both lucky because both the girls and boys dormitories didn't get filled up to its full capacity a couple of years ago, so you can move right in. I will allow you two to take a trip to Hogsmeade to go shopping this weekend for items."  
  
"Er, Professor," Harry spoke up, "What about money?"  
  
"It's on me, Harry," Dumbledore said sweetly. "I look forward to seeing you two throughout the year. And for anyone who is prying, tell them you came from Durmstrang. I daresay you two will be slightly ahead of everyone else. We always learn more over the years," he added thoughtfully. "All right, off you trot!"  
  
"Thanks, Professor."  
  
"Yes, thank you."  
  
Harry and Hermione turned and walked through the gigantic doors with a smile on their faces.  
  
"So, Snicket," Harry said jokingly.  
  
"Yes, Thewler?" Hermione answered back.  
  
"I just can't believe it! I'm finally going to be able to talk to my parents," Harry said excitedly.  
  
"I'm just worried of what our friends in our time will be thinking," Hermione said fearfully. The pushed the doors open together.  
  
"There you are!" Sirius came running up to the new students.  
  
"You waited for us?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Of course we did," Sirius said, sounding hurt. "We never got your names, if you remember."  
  
"Ah, but we didn't get yours either," Hermione said back to him smartly.  
  
"You never asked."  
  
"But isn't it a polite thing to introduce yourself?"  
  
"So are you saying that you were impolite too?"  
  
During this whole time James and Harry were eyeing each other quite thoroughly in puzzlement. Suddenly they cried out to the bickering two, "Stop it!" They looked at each other oddly again.  
  
"Sorry," Hermione said apologetically to Sirius. "I'm Hermione Snicket. This is my friend Harry Thewler."  
  
"Sirius Black at your service," Sirius said, taking a swift bow. "And this is—"  
  
"James Potter is my name." James paused. "Thewler... isn't that some distant relative of mine?" he asked Harry.  
  
"Yeah, er, I'm your second cousin once removed on your father's side I think," Harry said in one breath.  
  
"So that's why you two look so alike," Sirius said. "It's almost an uncannily resemblance," he added thoughtfully. He motioned everyone to start walking, which they did. "So, what's with the entrance? A bit over- dramatic, don't you think?"  
  
"What? Oh, a spell went wrong," Hermione explained coolly.  
  
"Now, James and I know every person in this school," Sirius said. "And your face is one I wouldn't forget so easily." Hermione blushed. "Where are you from?" he asked.  
  
"We are from Durnstrang," Hermione answered as if she had rehearsed it. "But we transferred over to here. Let's just say it was a bit too dark over there."  
  
"And now which House are you two in?" James asked.  
  
"Gryffindor," Harry answered.  
  
"Brilliant," Sirius said enthusiastically. "Do you know your way around Hogwarts yet?"  
  
"Better than you'd think," Harry mumbled.  
  
"What was that?" Sirius asked politely.  
  
"We took a tour here over the summer," Hermione said quickly, shooting a glare at Harry. "And we stayed here a few nights, so we definitely know our way around."  
  
"Back to the Gryffindor common room, then?" James asked.  
  
"Are your things already up there?" Sirius asked as they climbed the staircase.  
  
"Er..." Harry stumbled.  
  
"Our luggage was stolen," Hermione finished quickly.  
  
"But we're going shopping tomorrow," Harry said.  
  
James and Sirius nodded understandingly.  
  
"Oy Lily!" James yelled out abruptly to a girl walking down a corridor to the left. The red head halted and turned around with a pained expression.  
  
"What do you want, Potter?" she spat. Her green eyes were burning from what looked like hatred.  
  
"Now now, Evans, no need for that," James said sarcastically. "I just wanted to introduce our two new students. Meet Harry Thewler and Hermione Snicket." He stepped aside to reveal Harry and Hermione.  
  
Lily grew softer, towards Hermione anyways. "Nice to meet you two. I suppose your in our year?"  
  
"Yes, we are," Harry said.  
  
Realization just struck Hermione. "Merlin's beard, your Lily Pot—I mean Evans, aren't you?" she said in disbelief.  
  
Lily blushed. "Yes, I am."  
  
But Hermione turned to Harry for confirmation. He nodded slowly. "Yes, she is, Herm." That just made Hermione even more confused. From what she had heard, not to mention read, James and Lily were happily married. But now they looked as if they didn't get along... at all.  
  
"Well," Sirius said, clapping his hands to en the awkward moment. "Let's go back to the common room. I know someone has some chocolate frogs they would love to share with their friend," he said to James, winking.  
  
They all agreed and continued walking. Hermione and Lily dove into a deep conversation about classes while James and Harry were talking about Quidditch. Sirius just chuckled at both groups and led them up the stairs.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
A/N: So, ya like? I'm trying to have this story be a bit different from all the other time traveling ones so... yeah. I'm also trying to make James and Sirius act like a cooler version of Fred and George, since most people compare the set of twins to the two Marauders.  
  
Next chapter: Y'all get to meet Remus and Snivellus! Peter too, but he can go to... a fiery place underground where the devil reigns, so I don't really care about him. But he will be in there (unfortunately). But I must ask your opinion, should I show what Ron, Ginny, Remus, pretty much the people form the future, are thinking and saying? In other words, should I be switching timelines during a chapter? Tell me in your reviews please! 


	4. Chapter 4: Getting Settled

A/N: Just so you know, I updated chapter 3.  There is a very important change in there for chapter 5, so yeah…

Still don't own anything…

**Chapter 4:  Getting Settled **

"Remus!  OY MOONY!" Sirius yelled across the common room.  Everyone in the school was used to James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter calling each other by their quite random names.  Sirius even encouraged some to call them the Marauders, which spread through the school like wildfire.

A boy was sitting in front of an unlit fire.  He was curled up in an elegant chair with a rather thick book in his hands propped up against his knees.  His head shot up at the sound of his name.

"Have you even started to study for History yet, Padfoot?" he said tiredly to Sirius, who had just run up to Remus.

"Since when do I study?" Sirius answered.  "But let's not talk about school work right now."

"Oh yes, what else would we talk about in school then?" Remus muttered sarcastically.

"How about our two new classmates?" 

As if on cue, Lily and Hermione stepped through the portrait.

"So what did you say your classes were again?" Hermione asked Lily.

"Well, I want to be a Healer, so I have to take Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Charms, too."

"I just want to take so many classes; I don't know how it will all fit!" Hermione said.  

Lily and Hermione walked up to Sirius and Remus.

Hermione had to fight her laugh at the sight of the younger Remus; he looked so pale and small.

"Moony, this is Hermione Snicket," Sirius said.  "'Mione, this is Remus Lupin."

Remus, being the kind gentleman he was, stood up at the introduction.  "Hello, Hermione."  

"Hi Prof—Er, Remus," Hermione said.  It felt so awkward to call your former teacher by his first name. 

"Where are you from?" Remus asked politely, striking up a conversation piece.

"Oh, from Durmstrang."

"Why'd you switch?" 

"This school just seemed better," Hermione lied.  "The Dark Magic isn't really mine, or Harry's thing."

"Harry?" Remus repeated.

Sirius brightened.  "Oh yeah, Remus.  You should see this.  Where are those two?" he asked Hermione.  

She just shrugged.  She had been so engrossed in Lily's conversation that she hadn't noticed anything else.  Lily was so incredibly nice and cheerful.  But Hermione had mentioned James' name and Lily's eyes just clouded over with dislike.  Hermione decided that she and Harry would have to change that.

"Aha!  There they are," Sirius said.

A thoroughly pissed off Harry stepped through the portrait, or was it James?  No, a saddened James entered seconds after.  Harry made a beeline for Hermione.  He laced his fingers through hers.  Sirius and Remus noticed this action and then glared at Harry, though no one noticed.

Hermione could sense the tension.  "Is everything all right?" she asked Harry. 

"Fine," he gritted through his teeth.  "We just met someone along our way."

"Who?" Sirius asked, forgetting about Harry's hand in Hermione's for the moment.

"Snivellus," James said moodily.

"Snivellus?" Hermione repeated.

"Severus. Snape," Harry said between clenched teeth.

"Snape?" Hermione repeated again, this time amazed.  "What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything to us.  He," Harry said pointedly to James, "did something to him."

"Wait, how do you know Snivelly?" Sirius asked Hermione.

"Would anyone mind telling me who you are?" Remus asked loudly, looking at Harry.

"Oh, sorry, I'm Harry Thewler," Harry said, sticking out his hand.

Remus took his hand and said, "Remus Lupin."  

"Ugh, can't you ever leave Severus alone?" Lily said to James.

"What?" James yelped.  "It was in self-de—"

"Come on, Hermione," Lily said morosely.  She dragged Hermione away from Harry. "I'll show you your room."

"See you guys at dinner then," Hermione called out to the Marauders plus Harry.  

As Lily dragged Hermione up the staircase, Hermione finally wriggled out of Lily's grasp.  

"Lily, what's a matter?" she asked once they entered the dormitories.

"Your bed is the one next to mine," Lily said pointing.

"Lily," Hermione said warningly.

"All right, since you're new here, I'll enlighten you," Lily said while falling onto her bed.  "You see, it all starts with James.  He apparently really likes me.  Kind of ironic, because I don't like him, at all.  He could have any girl in this school, so he's 'Mr. Popular', but no.  He has this fixation on me."

"But why don't you like him?" Hermione dared to ask.  It seemed as if Lily was one of those girls who could blow up at any second.

"Because he's an arrogant bullying prat!" she screeched.  Lily took a second to calm down.  "He hexes anyone he can for fun.  He shows off his Quidditch skills all the time.  He always gets in trouble with Black."

Hermione noticed Lily was ranting and decided to stop it.  "Ok, I was just curious.  We can stop talking about them if you like."  Lily nodded.  "All right… when do classes start?" Hermione asked, steering the conversation as far from the Marauders.

"Oh," Lily brightened up at the subject of classes.  "We just started our classes yesterday, so after dinner, you might want to talk to Professor McGonagoll about your schedule.  I would recommend taking…" and they spent the rest of their time before dinner talking about classes and courses, teachers and students (minus Harry and the Marauders).

Back down stairs in the common room, Harry was talking to the Marauders.  

"So James, you're the Seeker for Gryffindor?" Harry asked James.

"The best there is," James said proudly.

Harry looked at Sirius and Remus.  "Are you two on the team?"

"No, we leave the brutal games you all call fun sports to James," Remus said.  

"Yes, to Mr. Quidditch Captain," Sirius chimed in.

"You're the Quidditch Captain?" Harry asked James in amazement.  No one had told him anything of the sort.

"Yep, just got the job this year.  Now, you said you were Seeker for your team?"

"The best there is," Harry mocked lightly.

James looked downhearted.  

"What's wrong with being a Seeker?" Harry asked.

"Well, I was hoping you'd consider joining our team," James said slowly.  "You see, we're missing a Chaser this year and I'm having a hard time convincing anybody to join."  He paused.  "I don't suppose you'd like to try out, would you?" 

Harry beamed.  He would be playing Quidditch with his father.  All right, so it wasn't his favorite position, but it would do.  "Sure, it'd be fun."

James punched the air triumphantly.  "Brilliant!  I'll have to host a bona fide tryout, but you'll most likely win.  From what I've heard of you tales, you're almost as good as me!"

Harry rolled his eyes.  He definitely had to tone down his father's ego.  Uncomfortable silence followed their conversation.

Sirius decided to start up a fresh new topic.  The first thing he thought of was, of course, girls.  "So what's with you and Hermione?" he asked.

Remus perked up at the sound of her name.  Harry, on the other hand, just looked up lazily.

"We're friends.  Well, maybe a bit more, but we're not quite sure yet," Harry said in a thoughtful tone that Loony Lovegood would be proud of.  

Sirius and Remus cheered up at the sound of 'friends'.  Both noticed this and glared at each other.  

"Are you two the only two who transferred over?" Remus asked.

At that comment, a picture of Ron flashed in his mind.  "Uh huh," Harry said sadly.  

Right on time, a small, mousy boy hopped through the portrait, but missed the edge by a few inches and toppled into the common room.

"Beautiful entrance, Wormtail," Sirius said sarcastically.

The boy blushed and waddled over to the Marauders.  He had just noticed the new boy.

"Blimey!" Peter shouted.  "James, why didn't you tell me you had a twin?"

"'Cuz he doesn't, numbskull," Sirius said.  "This is his second cousin once removed on his mother's—"

"Father's," Harry corrected.

"—Father's side," Sirius said. 

"He just transferred over here from Durmstrang along with a girl," Remus explained. 

"Oh, cool," Peter said.  "Well, hi.  I'm Peter Pettigrew," Peter introduced, sticking out his pudgy hand.

Harry glanced at it warily.  "Harry Thewler," he said stiffly, shaking Peter's hand reluctantly.  If it hadn't been for the other three Marauders being present, he would have punched the crap out Wormtail.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

After dinner, Harry and Hermione left the squabbling James and Lily and the silent pair of Remus and Sirius to see Professor McGonagoll.  They walked up to the High Table and waited quietly for her to finished talking to a younger Professor Flitwick.  

"What can I do for you, Potter?" Professor McGonagoll asked at long last.  

"I—wait, how did you—Oops.  Er, my name is Harry Thewler and this is Hermione Snicket."

"Ah yes, the new students," she said.  "Sorry, but you look remarkably like James Potter.  What can I do for you?" 

"We need to talk about our classes," Hermione said.

"Oh, right, of course.  This way."  McGonagoll led them out of the Grand Hall all the way to her office.  

"Now, since you have missed your fifth year in this, ahem, time," she said, "you will just have to tell me what classes you were planning on taking and truthfully how well you did on your exams."  She looked at Harry.  "Let's start with you P—Thewler."

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

By the time the Marauders went to bed, Harry and Hermione had still not come back from their meeting with McGonagoll.

All four boys were wide awake.  All wanted to talk about the new arrivals.

"So what do you think of Hermione?" Remus asked, trying to sound offhand.

Sirius whistled.  "Man, she's hot," he said.

James threw a pillow at Sirius.  "She seems extremely nice," James said.  "What do you think Moony?"

"I kinda like her," Remus said after a long pause.  

"She _is_ really smart," James said encouragingly.  "I heard her and Evans talking about classes all the way up to the common room.  She seems to like studying a lot."

"I think her and Remus would make a fine couple," Peter said.  Everyone stared at him.  "What?  The whole studying, smart thing going on.  Hey, I was just saying what everybody was thinking."

"You are all forgetting about Harry," Sirius said more moodily than he planned.

"What about him?" James asked.

"I think he likes 'Mione," Remus said gloomily. 

"Naw," James said, "you'll win her heart," he said faithfully.

_'Not if I can get there first'_ Sirius thought maniacally.  

_'What are you talking about, Padfoot?' _thought another part of Sirius' mind.  _'You don't even know the girl yet!'_

Sirius' thoughts were interrupted by their dormitory room opening.  In popped Harry's face.

"Hey Thewler," James said.  "How'd your meeting go with McGonagoll?"

Harry let out a groan as his flopped down on his bed.  "I swear, she would have been questioning me all night if she had the chance."

"What's your best class?" Sirius asked.

"Er, most people would say Defense Against the Dark Arts.  Yours?"

"Transfiguration," James answered automatically.  

"Ancient Runes, probably," Remus said.

"Defense, too," Sirius said.

"I prefer Care of Magical Creatures," mumbled Peter.  "I don't know about you guys, but I'm very tired.  Good night."

James chuckled.  "G' night Peter.  Actually, good night everyone."  And James closed the curtains around the bed.  Harry, Remus, and Sirius had no choice but to follow suit.

It pained Harry to see James treat Peter to kindly.  All that ran through his mind when he saw Peter was 'How could he do that to his friend's?'  That night Harry's dreams were plagued with the night of the Potter's betrayal.

*~ Back at Present Day ~*

The disappearance of Harry and Hermione troubled everyone.  Especially Ron.  Where had they gone to?  All Fred and George said was that they disappeared the moment they stepped into the study at midnight.  To ease everyone's mind, they set off to clean the study Hermione and Harry had started the night before.

Remus was there at breakfast, so he decided to help out everyone too.  In the middle of dusting a bookshelf (an inch of dust covered every single book in there), Remus received what felt like a pound in the head.  He placed a hand on his forehead, and then collapsed into a nearby chair at the impact.

Mrs. Weasley and Ginny rushed over to him.

"Are you all right, Remus dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked worriedly.

Remus' head shot up.  "I remember… I know where Harry and Hermione are."

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

A/N:  I really don't like this chapter, but I couldn't really do anything else.  I have already started writing the next chapter (English and History class, ya gotta love it), so there is more action there.  

Thank you, kitsune-oni, for the corrections.  Unfortunately, I noticed those mistakes a bit too late.  

Just so you all know, there isn't going to be too much time line switching during the middle of the story (I hope).  And I'm sorry, but I just had to change the plot a little bit.  The Remus and Sirius rivalry just fit in perfectly.

I hope you all loved it so much you want to update!


	5. Chapter 5: The Most Dreadful Thing

A/N: I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FAST ENOUGH! I just want to thank my reviewers in advance. You guys are all great! I know you guys are anxious, so I give you chapter 5!

**Chapter 5: The Most Dreadful Thing**

**Present Day**

"So you're telling us that Harry and Hermione have traveled back to your sixth year, and we can't get them back?!" yelled a hysterical Ron towards Remus. Ron was pacing around the chair Remus occupied. Fred and George were huddled by the door. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were standing next to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had arrived at Grimmauld Place for he had gotten the memories of the new travelers along with Remus.

"Now tell me again why we can't use a Time-Turner to bring her back?" Ron asked Dumbledore.

The Headmaster just gave a weak sigh. "The Time-Turner was not meant for such long traveling," he explained quietly. "They will have to wait for the use of another Life-Alter to take place."

"And when will that be?" Ginny asked fearfully.

"Oh, if I'm correct, I told them a year," Dumbledore answered. Ron and Ginny groaned.

"Do you remember them well?" Ginny asked Remus quietly. Everyone turned to him. "Have they said anything about their friends?"

"No. They might later on though."

Ron shot a questioning stare at what Remus had said.

"You see," Remus continued, "my memories are incomplete right now. I can't remember anything until they've done something, if that make any sense."

Everyone was silent as a turkey farm on Thanksgiving. Finally Ron let out an anguished scream.

"Why were they messing with Dark Magic anyways?" he yelled out, mostly to himself.

"I do believe they were trying to bring Sirius back," Dumbledore said.

"By traveling all the way back to his sixth year?" Ron asked.

"No, they were probably interrupted, or it might have backfired."

"Since you said a Time-Turner wouldn't travel that far, then how did they manage to get there?" Ron asked as if he had been thinking about it for awhile.

"I can answer that one," Ginny said, holding up a letter she found on the floor. "This is a letter from Sirius… It talks about using a Life-Alter… It can either bring someone back from the dead, or travel far back in time."

"So do you think they messed up the process?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore answered. "They wouldn't go back to the past on purpose."

Fred and George looked at each other gravely. So it _was_ their fault Harry and Hermione were stuck in another time. If they hadn't barged in, everything would be ok. Even Sirius would be alive. They left the room silently, heads drooping all the way to their chest.

**Marauders Time**

Hermione woke up early, as usual. She gazed around her room, expecting to find Lavender's brown hair poking out from behind the bed on her left. Instead, there was flaming-red, wavy hair. Yesterday's events came flooding back. The Marauders. Lily Evans. The past.

She groaned as she stepped out of her bed and into the cold air to take a shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Hermione walked down the stairs into the common room, squeaky clean and ready for learning. She pulled out a Potion's book and looked to find the most comfy chair. The one she usually sat at was already occupied by a boy with light brown hair.

"Good morning Remus," she whispered in his ear.

Remus jumped about a foot in his seat and slammed his book shut. "Oh, Hermione. I didn't hear you."

"Obviously," Hermione answered with a smile. She sat in a chair opposite of Remus to she could face him. She caught the title of the book he was reading before he shoved it hastily into his bag at his feet. "A bit of light reading on Animagus?" she asked slyly.

"Er." Remus looked as if he was doing some very speedy thinking. "I was just interested in Animagus when McGonagoll was talking about them and decided to look them up."

"Well," Hermione said behind her smirk. "That's very studious of you… What job are you preparing for this year?"

"Hm?" Remus asked. He was staring into the fire, lost in thought for a moment. "Oh, I, er, want to work at Egypt."

"Doing what?"

"Working on the tombs and hieroglyphics," he said timidly.

"Really?" Hermione said eagerly. "So you're taking Ancient Runes then?"

"Oh yes, it's one of my favorite subjects," Remus said excitedly.

"Me too!"

"What other classes are you taking?" Remus asked. He was amazed at how easy, and enjoyable, it was to talk to Hermione. Usually girls just wanted to talk about themselves, but Hermione seemed to want to talk about him. No girl had ever done that to Remus before.

"Well, I want to work in the Ministry's International Affairs, so I'm taking, of course, Transfiguration, Defense, and Potions, but also Ancient Runes and History of Magic."

"I'm taking History, too. But not Charms or Potions," he said with a hint of sadness.

"What are the teachers like?" Hermione asked.

"Most of them are nice, but watch out for Smirch, the Potions teacher. She can be really cruel when not in the right mood. The Transfiguration teacher is usually strict at sometimes…" and Remus continued to explain every single teacher at Hogwarts until their conversation drifted into another subject. It seemed like hours they were sitting there, chatting away the morning.

Up in the boy's dormitory, Sirius had just woken up. He glanced at everyone else's beds to see if they were still hiding in their dreams. Not to his surprise, Remus' bed was empty. James was drooling on his pillows while tightly hugging a stuffed Snitch. Peter looked as if he was snoring, but it was hard to tell. After the first few days of their first year, the other three Marauders had put a silencing charm around Peter's bed during the night. Peter had sounded like a foghorn back then but they didn't risk taking the charm off to find out if he still did.

Sirius had forgotten about the fifth bed until he saw another mat of raven black hair poking out. Harry was sound asleep though twisting and turning, muttering something about an apartment of miseries. (A/N: Get it?)

Sirius shrugged at Harry's odd choice of dreams and started to wake up. For him, it took a lot of effort to get out of bed, splash his face with cold water, and pull some robes over his head. As he padded out of the room as to not wake up the others, he stopped in front of a mirror. He checked his hair; it just had to look as if he did nothing, but still looked flawless. Once he was satisfied, he continued out of the room and down the stairs to the common room.

_Hey, maybe I can scare Remus again, _Sirius thought cheerfully. _Let's see if he will scream like a little girl._

But as he neared the last few steps, he heard a laugh, a girly laugh that did not belong to Remus.

_All right! Moony's found himself a girl!_

But as Sirius came into view of Remus and this mysterious girl, his stomach gave a sudden lurch. There, curled up in two chairs in front of the crackling fire, were Remus and Hermione. Apparently Remus had told a joke (_I didn't know he knew any,_ Sirius thought distractedly) and Hermione found it hilarious.

Sirius mulled over in his mind which choice was better: to go back upstairs and try to sleep, or try to talk to them and interrupt Remus' valiant conversation with Hermione. _No difficulties in choosing there._

"Hello, mate," Sirius called out to Remus. As he neared his friend, he feigned a surprise face at the sight of Hermione. "Hermione, I didn't know you were an early bird too."

"I can't stand sleeping in," Hermione said, turning to Sirius now. "People just sleep their lives away… But I didn't expect you to be an early riser, Sirius," she said thoughtfully.

"What can I say," Sirius said glowingly, "I'm full of surprises." He grinned cutely masked behind a mischievous glint in his eyes. Hermione just smiled back, partially irked at Sirius' behavior, but another part was entranced. "So what say you all to some breakfast?" Sirius asked while tearing his eyes away from Hermione's to look at both a vexed Remus and an eager Hermione.

"Great idea," Hermione said, standing up from her chair. "I'm starving."

The threesome exited the Gryffindor quarters and silently walked down a set of spacious stairs. Hermione was in the middle of the two boys as she tried to acted as if she hadn't gone to school there for five years already. Remus kept on shooting evil glances at Sirius who in return stuck his tongue out at him.

"So Hermione," Sirius said smugly at Remus' enraged face, "what do you want to be after Hogwarts?"

"I want to work in the Ministry for International Affairs," she said matter-of-factly. "And what about you? What are you going to be?"

"I'm training to be an Auror," he said proudly. "But what classes do you need to take for Working at International Affairs?"

"Transfiguration, Defense, Potions, Ancient Runes, and History of Magic," Hermione answered, ticking off each subject with each finger. "For an Auror, if I am correct, you need Transfiguration, Defense, Potions, and Charms, right?"

"Exactly. James is taking the same classes."

"So is Harry," Hermione said excitedly.

"That's, that's great," Sirius said a bit too strained.

"Oh, you two will really like him," Hermione said positively. "He's really nice."

"I'm sure we will," Remus said reassuringly.

They entered the Great Hall a few moments later. There was no one at the Gryffindor table yet except for two: a curly blond haired boy and a straight haired blond girl, both looked seventeen. They had cheerful, full, young faces that looked quite familiar to Hermione.

"Ahoy Longbottom!" Sirius yelled out to the boy.

Frank looked up from his bacon at the newcomers.

"Oh, hello boys," he said in a mocking tired tone. "Where's your other half?" he asked, referring to James and Peter.

"Still sleeping," Remus said, rolling his eyes. "Frank, Alice, this is Hermione Snicket. 'Mione, meet Frank and Alice. They're seventh years."

"Nice to meet you," Alice said politely.

"You too," Hermione stuttered.

Sirius lead Hermione, who Remus tagged along with her, to the seats far away form the teachers. It seemed as if they had their own special spot to sit at, and no one else dared to touch it.

Hermione and Remus started off a rounding conversation of school work. Sirius found this very wearisome, but every time he tried to steer her off topic, Remus would butt in again, reviving the subject once more.

After fifteen tedious minutes of listening to Remus go on and on about Ancient Runes class, he heard someone shout out his name.

"SIRIUS BLACK, ARE YOU DEAF?" James bellowed. He was standing at the end of the Great Hall looking thoroughly irritated.

Sirius winced. "Excuse me one moment," he said politely to Hermione while ignoring Remus.

Hermione watched as Sirius walked down to James, both equally annoyed. She could not hear from where she was, but she saw Sirius ask James something and then James leaned in a whispered something else. Sirius grim face split into a most impish grin. They ran out of the hall seconds later.

"I wonder what that was all about," Hermione said.

"Oh, I can tell you," Remus said tiredly. "That happens almost every week or so. It means they've thought of a new prank."

"Pranks?" Hermione repeated.

"Yeah, they are always cooking up some plot to make life at Hogwarts a smidgen more interesting." Hermione must've made a face because Remus continued. "Their ideas are quite brilliant sometimes. It is fun to take part in them once in awhile." Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Let's just say I'm not the perfect Prefect."

Hermione chuckled and started to work on her breakfast again. They finished their breakfast soon after and made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. They passed Lily, who surprisingly was walking with Harry. They were in such deep conversation that when Hermione tried to say good morning to Harry, he didn't even notice.

"Those two seem to be hitting it off well," Remus said thoughtfully.

"Yes, quite well," Hermione said worriedly.

**Later that day...**

"Hermione, don't forget, we're going shopping today," Harry said in her ear. She had been talking to Remus again late in the morning when Harry appeared at her side.

"I hope you don't mind, Herm, but I asked if James could join us," he said timidly as she started to stand up. "And since Sirius and James are never apart, Sirius is coming too." He had just noticed Remus sitting there, staring at the two. "I suppose you would like to come too?" he asked through his laugh.

"If it's not a problem," he said civilly, standing up next to Hermione.

"It's not, really," Hermione said.

Harry eyed Hermione and Remus before continuing. "The carriage is going to be here any minute, so it'd be best to get ready now and meet us at the entrance hall." And with that, he ran up to his room to get his money.

"Well, we'd better get going," Remus said. They walked back to the dormitories.

Minutes later, James, Sirius, Remus, Harry, and Hermione were walking out of Hogwarts and into a carriage. James and Harry were sitting together talking excitedly about the Quidditch practices that were to start soon. Sirius, Remus, and Hermione were arguing about house-elf rights.

"But they enjoy it, Hermione," Sirius argued loudly. "They want to serve you."

"It's labor," she disagreed hotly, equal in volume. "And the way some wizards treat house-elves—it's appalling!"

"Ok, I agree that some people can be harsh towards their elves and I agree that has to stop," he said in a gracious voice. "But freeing them altogether is going a bit overboard."

"Put yourself in their shoes, Padfoot," Remus said after his elongated silence. "You were born into the world, and your soul purpose was to serve a group of people, whom by the way, you did NOT choose, and you must stay with them until your death. Does that sound like fun to you?"

"Does eating human children sound fun?" Sirius snapped back. "That's the way the Erkling thinks." He shrugged. "So the house-elves must think dusting and cleaning is like a trip to a Quidditch game. It's just how they think and were brought up." Hermione opened her mouth to interrupt, but Sirius just kept on rambling. "There will be some oddball elves but for the majority, they want to work. And as for those who hate their jobs and/or family, they should have a say in what happens to them." Sirius indicated his end with a loaded sigh. He looked at Hermione and Remus, expecting another row but it never came.

Remus looked wide-eyed at Sirius, then over at Hermione. Hermione was the first to speak.

"Sirius," she said almost breathlessly, "that is the best argument I've heard about house-elves yet. Though you really don't have much competition. Ron wasn't a very good arguer," she said absentmindedly.

"Who's—"

"We're here," Harry interrupted.

And so they were. Their carriage halted to a sudden stop.

"We'll be back in the late afternoon," the coach said in a nasal voice. The moment Remus hopped off the carriage it sped away.

"He's overly cheerful, isn't he?" he asked sarcastically.

James hopped from one foot to the other. "Harry, you gotta see the Quidditch shop. They have this new broom called the Cleansweep. Oh come on!" James grabbed Harry's arm and started to drag him down the down to his right.

"Ah, wait," Harry said, choking through his laughter, "I'm not going to a Quidditch store with only you. I need some help." He automatically looked at Hermione, who just shook her head with a smirk. "Alright Sirius, you're coming with me," he said.

So James dragged a cackling Harry who dragged Sirius, who irritably yet playfully rolled his eyes. As they turned the corner down the road, Remus turned to face Hermione.

"So where shall we go first?" he asked.

"I need to shop for school supplies for one thing."

"Parchment, quills, and books would be this way," and Remus started to walk down the road to his left. Hermione walked beside him. Their hands brushed together, though Hermione could tell he meant to do so. She smiled at him. He smiled back warmly and laced his fingers through hers.

**Back to the other Marauder and his future son...**

It was forty minutes before Sirius and Harry managed to drag James away from the Quidditch store. If they had delayed it any longer, they were positive James would have bought the whole store.

"It's like this every time," Sirius said exasperatedly to Harry. They had to grab both of James' arms away from the Cleansweep section of the store.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Harry joked, panting a little from literally lugging his younger father out of the store.

"Hey Sirius," James said abruptly. "I want to show Harry a shop. Find us in thirty minutes at Zonko's?"

Sirius nodded, fortunate to have an excuse to leave. "Sure thing. See ya guys later!"

Sirius jogged down the road, searching for Hermione and Remus, turning sharp corners left and right. If anyone knew Hogsmeade, it was the Marauders.

Sirius slowly turned yet another corner, feeling slightly fatigued. As luck would have it, he had found Hermione and Remus at long last, but noticed something different about them. True, they did have a few shopping bags in opposite hands, but something else that bothered Sirius. They were holding hands. He was about to interrupt their peaceful moment when Remus whispered something to Hermione. Sirius' breath froze when Hermione smiled affectionately and did a most dreadful thing: she kissed him on the cheek.

A/N: AH! What is Remus doing?! Will Sirius win over fair Hermione's heart? Will Remus and Sirius still be friends? Will James stop obsessing over the Quidditch store? Tune in next time to find out. (I'll try to update faster. This past week was just a bit too busy. Sorry again!)


	6. Chapter 6: Detention Time

A/N: Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long. I just want to inform you all that I do NOT own Sirius, James, or Remus, let alone any characters or places of the Wizarding World. I also don't own any Beatles songs…

So enjoy!

**Chapter 6: Detention Time**

Sirius managed to stagger away from the scene without getting caught. Part of his mind was yelling at him, telling him to go back and curse Remus for getting in his way, but another, calmer voice told him to keep a level head about him. And that side won.

Sirius didn't really feel up to a Zonko's trip with James and Harry (hard to believe). Although he did stop by to ask the clerk of Zonko's to tell James he had left. After he sent his message, Sirius walked back to Honeydukes and waited for the storeowners to clear out of the storage room so he could use the secret passageway.

He stumbled down the stairs and even deeper into the tunnel. He didn't even bother lighting up his wand: he knew the tunnel like the back of his hand. He figured he'd head back to Gryffindor Tower, get bombarded with questions by Peter, ditch him and go find some girl to snog. Yup, that was Sirius Black's comfort food.

He took out the Marauder's Map as he stopped in front of the door into Hogwarts. No one in the corridor, or the next. He quickly pushed the door open and rushed down the hall, only to slow down, trying to look casual.

As soon as Gryffindor seventh year named Bridget Bell crossed a tangent corridor, Gryffindor Tower was pushed to the farthest corners of Sirius' mind. Amazingly, Sirius and Bridget had sustained a healthy relationship since Christmas Break last year, all the way through the rest of the year, and completely through summer break. Remus had called their relationship cheap because it had started over some conveniently placed mistletoe.

"Hello Bell," Sirius purred.

The girl stopped in her tracks and turned her head slyly.

"Sirius, how nice it is to see you again," Bridget said, walking slowly towards him. "How are you doing?"

"Not too well," he said softly.

"Anything I can do to help?" she asked. She stopped a good foot in front of him and then leaned in and whispered, "Anything at all?"

"Oh I can think of a few things," he said into her neck before he moved in. Her lips grazed his before their kiss deepened. They managed to make their way into an empty classroom before McGonagall had caught them again.

The first day back from summer vacation, Sirius and Bridget were displaying quite a large amount of personal affection in her classroom one evening and ended up in detention for the rest of the week. Remus and James had just stopped taunting him a day ago. But Sirius thought it was totally worth it. Seventh years, in his opinion, were some of the best kissers out there.

Sirius and Bridget had spent the rest of the day together and away from the Marauders once they returned. They didn't spend the whole time snogging (much to Sirius' disappointment) but talked a lot and walked around the grounds a few times. While in the midst of tickling Bridget outside, Sirius had caught a glimpse of Hermione through a window. She had been watching them. Sirius just continued to tickle Bridget until she yanked him onto the leave-covered ground beside her.

Dinner was a whole other story.

Sirius, being a faithful Marauder he was, sat with James, Remus, and Peter, who were unfortunately accompanied by Harry, Hermione, Lily, and some other girl Peter was trying to flirt with.

Harry was in a deep conversation with Lily, talking about some muggle contraption. Remus was telling stories of their past harmless pranks to Hermione. Peter had copied one of James' flirting tricks, and now he had the girl giggling nonstop. James and Sirius were bent over their food, not talking to anyone. Both didn't seem too keen on having the newcomers sitting with them.

James, while reaching for some potatoes, accidentally bumped Sirius elbow.

"Watch it, mate," Sirius snapped.

"What's a matter with you?" James retorted waspishly.

Sirius' eyes flashed in the direction of Hermione and Remus. "Nothing," he lied tiredly.

James looked at Remus and Hermione, then at Sirius, then at the two, then back at his friend. "You don't," he said slowly. "Oh Padfoot, please say you don't like Her—"

"I said it's nothing, Potter!" Sirius yelled, ending with a few heads turning his way. Sirius glared at all the students until they returned to their original conversation. He sighed. "Anyways, what's wrong with you? You don't seem your cocky self right now."

"What do you think has gotten me down?" he asked sourly. He cast his eyes over to Harry and Lily.

Lily, after hearing about Harry from Hermione, started to act nicer towards him. It was amazing at how similar Harry and James looked, but how differently those two acted.

Harry was ecstatic. Here he was, talking to his mother, and back in the time of the Marauders. Harry was in perfect bliss. That's because he was oblivious to the feelings of two Marauders about his girlfriend.

James, as most people knew, had a crush on Lily. But Lily wouldn't give him the time of day let alone go out with him. It was disconcerting. James Potter always got what he wanted. And now there was this look alike talking to her like they were old friends. Why wouldn't Lily talk to him, James? They looked the same. James didn't understand it at all.

"Oh," Sirius said slowly. "Don't worry, Prongs. Remember, Harry likes 'Mione," he said sharply.

"Padfoot," James started.

"Weren't we going to perform that oh-so-brilliant prank today?" Sirius asked brightly. He didn't want to talk about Hermione at the moment.

James sighed, then brought back his infamous Potter smirk. "Yeah, we were." He and Sirius pulled out their wands at the same time.

"_Accio pea_," they whispered, pointing their wands at Snape and Kevin Nott's plates. Sirius and James caught the peas and pointed their wands at them and whispered a curse. "_Reducto_," they whispered again. The hexed peas flew back to their original plate. Sirius and James had identical smug grins stretched across their faces.

"Now," Sirius said to James cheerfully, "let us sit back and enjoy the show."

"Indeed," James agreed.

They went back to eating heartedly, but always kept their heads up. Lily and Remus could hardly fail to notice their gloomy faces turn abruptly bright.

"Why are you two so happy?" Lily asked during a break in her conversation with Harry.

"What's it to you, Evans?" James snapped as he whipped his head around to reveal glaring eyes.

Lily raised her eyebrows in amazement. James never treated her with anything but kindness. He never yelled at her. He even occasionally asked to carry Lily's books for her. Lily decided not to push James any farther. She remember the time when James cursed a fourth year for tapping him on the shoulder when he was in a sour mood.

"James, what did you do now?" Remus asked slowly.

"Who said he did something?" Sirius asked acidly.

"Just wait," James said reassuringly.

They didn't have to wait too long. Across the Great Hall, two Slytherin boys stood up. One was standing in a twitchy manner with greasy hair swinging in his face: Severus Snape. The other was a burly seventh year with curly brown hair: Kevin Nott. And to James and Sirius' delight, they started to sing.

"In the town where I was born,

Lived a man who sailed to sea,

And he told us of his life,

In the land of submarines."

Sirius and James literally howled with laughter. Sirius actually fell off the bench from laughing so hard. Peter was shaking with laughter while Remus' face was growing pink at a steady rate from holding in the hilarity of the situation.

Lily and Hermione were a totally different case. They shared equal grim looks as they threw deadly glares at James and Sirius. This didn't, however, dampen James and Sirius' high spirits for they were doubled over with peals of laughter.

Everyone else in the Great Hall stopped what they were doing to look at the Slytherin singing sensation. Once they realized they weren't singing on their own free will, they burst out laughing. _Only two people could be responsible of this,_ half of the Hall thought. A lot of the Gryffindors called out to James and Sirius to congratulate them. Many girls shrieked with laughter at Sirius' impression of Snape singing to the Beatles. But as all things must, the song drew to a close.

"We all live in a yellow submarine,

A yellow submarine,

A yellow submarine."

"BLACK! POTTER!" Snape yelled out in pure rage across the room the moment the song ended.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Professor McGonagoll stood behind the two Marauders looking quite angry. Her lips had her trademark whiteness from pursing them so tightly. She tapped her toe furiously with her hands on her hips.

"Here Professor," Sirius said cockily, "I'll help you out." His face grew stern and he began to talk in a snappish, tart voice. "Detention! Potter, hospital wing. Black, dungeons. Tonight at seven. Don't be late!" Sirius smiled broadly.

"Very witty, Black," McGonagoll drawled. "If you must know, I was planning on only taking points from Gryffindor, but since Mr. Black is just itching to get into detention again, I'll follow his lead." She looked at Sirius. "Don't be late!" she said, mocking the tone Sirius used to mock herself. She looked as if she was going to smirk before she whipped around and made her way back to the High Table.

James punched Sirius in the shoulder lightheartedly. "Nice going, Padfoot."

"Eh, she would have given us detention anyways," Sirius said carelessly.

"Yeah, I guess…" James said. He continued to eat his dinner until he started to feel someone's heated glare upon him. "Can I help you, Evans?" he asked without looking up from his train of spaghetti chugging its way into James' tunnel-like mouth.

"Why did you do that?" Lily asked. James looked up. Usually Lily's voice was as testy as McGonagoll's, but now she asked it in a soft, almost tender voice.

James, still angry at Lily, refused to act his normal, civil self around her. "Haven't we already gone through this?" he asked exasperatedly. He caught Sirius snigger out of the corner of his eye. "We don't like him. He doesn't like us."

"I wonder why," Lily muttered under her breath.

"Oh, come on, Evans," Sirius said. "We just did it to brighten up the evening. And don't think I didn't catch that smile when the second verse came around." James and Sirius high-fived each other before returning to their meal.

Remus, on the other hand, knew that was just a start. He dropped his conversation with Hermione to question his fellow Marauders. "I know that's not all the jinx does. What else did you do?" he asked, leaning over to them.

Sirius winked at Hermione, who seemed to be discreetly listening, before explaining to Remus. "They will only be singing muggle songs, just for even more embarrassment (as we know Mr. Pro-Pureblood-We-Hate-All-Muggleborns loathes anything that has to do with muggles). And we jinxed them so that every time they say 'Mudblood' each sings another song until one of them says the key phrase. Then all singing stops."

"What's the key phrase?" Hermione asked.

Sirius grins widened even farther. "Promise you won't ruin our fun, Snicket?" Hermione rolled her eyes but nodded. "Gryffindor kicks Slytherin arse."

"Oh _that's_ original," she muttered.

"Excuse me?" Sirius asked, his head snapping towards her.

"If you're such great pranksters, you should have used totally random words that make no sense whatsoever." She just sighed. "Aren't very imaginative, are you?" she asked in a dreary voice as she returned to her treacle tart.

James and Sirius rolled their eyes and heads to look at each other.

"Since you're new here, Snicket, we'll cut you some slack," Sirius said.

"Just remember 'Mione," James said, "we know Snape is going to figure out our plan eventually, especially the key phrase. So we made it something Snape would expect us to think of, so he wouldn't be singing all day."

"As funny as that is," Sirius interjected, "he's just not that good of a singer."

"That's why we made it obvious," James finished.

"So let me get this straight," Hermione said slowly. "You did Snape a—a _favor_?"

"Hey," Sirius said, trying to sound hurt, "we may be pranksters, but we're not cruel!"

"Could have fooled me," Lily said under her breath.

Nott sang one more time during dinner while Snape serenaded everyone twice before exiting the hall. James was leading the Marauders out of the hall first, still cackling about Snape's "All You Need Is Love" song.

Suddenly James was slammed into an opposite wall. But to everyone's surprise, he was still laughing.

"POTTER!" Snape yelled again as he stormed into view with his hand clawed around his wand.

"Getting a tad touchy, are we Snivellus?" James asked sarcastically through his laughter.

"_Akra Ignis_!" Snape cursed, bringing his wand above his head and swishing it down towards James.

"_Protego_!" Sirius yelled, blocking the hex off James so it hit a tapestry. It burst into blood red flames before disappearing altogether. "Sod off Snape," Sirius growled. "Just walk away." This time his voice was steady and even.

"Well that's a first," Snape sneered. "Black being charitable I suppose?"

"Seriously Snape," he said. He turned around and started to walk with a stunned Peter and Remus. "Just go drown your head in a toilet or something…" he trailed off, waving his hand carelessly over his shoulder.

Snape's face was priceless: it was a blend of amazement, speechlessness, and pure rage. "_Sliticus_!" the Slytherin yelled as his wand shot straight up at the retreating Sirius.

At first it didn't seem as if anything had happened to Sirius from everyone else's point of view… until he turned around. Upon Sirius' grim face was a heavily bleeding cut. It stretched across his left cheek, starting beside his eye and ending next to his mouth. His anger was practically rising off of him like steam.

"I gave you a fair warning Snape," Sirius spat. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He raised his wand up.

"Sirius, what happened?" Hermione shrieked as she laid her eyes one Sirius fresh cut. She noticed someone beside her moving. "_Immobulus_!" she yelled at Snape. He froze in mid-strike, his wand above his head, ready to add more slashes across Sirius' face.

Sirius walked up to the still Slytherin boy. "Yoo hoo, Snivelly!" Sirius taunted. He waved his hand in front of Snape's face and then snapped his fingers. He turned to a pair of chuckling students: Hermione and James. "This is brilliant! How come we never thought of this before?" he asked James. He went back to mocking Snape, now dancing in front of the pissed off Slytherin.

The crowd that had formed around them started to dislodge itself from the entrance hall and made their way into the many staircases that would lead them to their common rooms. All that was left were the teachers.

"Mr. Black!" Professor McGonagoll screeched as soon as Snape came into her view. Sirius had been poking playfully at Snape's hair and calling it the after affects of a grease bomb. Now he stood in mid-poke and staring at McGonagoll. "You must really love detention, Black, because you have just earned yourself another one!" she said.

Sirius was about to give his usual speech saved just for new detention time until a bold voice spoke up next to him.

"Please, Professor, I started it." That brave soul was Hermione. She stood still with a defiant spark in her eyes as they rested on McGonagoll.

"Miss Snicket?" she asked. McGonagoll did not believe a word Hermione had said, but since the girl volunteered… "You can join Mr. Black in his detention at the dungeons tonight at seven." McGonagoll turned on her heel and stormed down the corridor whilst muttering to herself about detention must be the "in" thing at the moment.

Sirius turned to Hermione slack jawed. "Hermione, why did you—"

"Oh Merlin, Sirius! We really need to take care of that cut," Hermione said. She walked up to him while taking some spare cloth out of her bag. Its original purpose was to be sewn into a hat for the house-elves. "Here," she said. She laid it on his cheek. He reached up to hold the cloth in place as Hermione's slender fingers slipped out from underneath his. "We should really go to Madame Pomfrey." Hermione took Sirius by the elbow and lead him down the corridor. She called out to the stunned Marauders and Lily, "We'll back soon!"

"Dueling again, Mr. Black? Madame Pomfrey asked disapprovingly. She hurried into her office to grab a certain medicine plant. Hermione stared after the nurse; she had really let herself go over the years. At the moment, Madame Pomfrey was a skinny, young woman, her face wrinkle-free.

"Hermione," Sirius said softly. Hermione did not look at him but busied herself with fixing her skirt. "Hermione," he said a little louder that that time. She couldn't go on ignoring him forever.

"Yes?" she asked, now looking at jar of some plant preserved in green goo placed behind Sirius on a shelf.

"First I want to say thanks," he said timidly. He wasn't looking at her either, but over her shoulder at one of the adjacent beds. "For taking some of the blame I mean. And for taking me to the hospital wing too."

"And second?" Hermione asked. She focused her eyes on Sirius' face. He looked straight at her as well.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked bluntly.

Hermione sighed and sat on the bed next to Sirius. "I don't know. It just seemed like the right thing to do. You didn't duel with Snape. You actually tried to walk away. And that's sort of brave. But that's also how I made my first two friends. Bailing them out of trouble, I mean."

"Really?" Sirius asked, sitting up straighter. "That's how I met James. I had to bail his arse out because he jinxed part of a dinner to dance across Gryffindor Table."

"In his first year?" Hermione asked incredulously. Sirius nodded. They both laughed softly.

"Here you go, Mr. Black," Madame Pomfrey said while making her way up to Sirius. "Juice from a Ganmo leaf, should clear things right up." She dabbed his cheek with a soaking wet rag filled with purple liquid one could guess as the Ganmo leaf juice.

Sirius' cut looked as if it was healing in slow motion. At first it stopped bleeding, then grew into a rather gruesome scar. Finally the skin grew over to leave a faint pink mark, which just disappeared seconds afterwards.

"There," Madame Pomfrey said promptly. "I doubt, Mr. Black, that you need to stay overnight. Just don't go itching it!" she yelled as he started to scratch. His hand dropped at once. "Off you go!" she ordered as she pushed the two teenagers out of the hospital wing.

Hermione turned towards Sirius in the hallway. "When is our detention?"

"Seven."

Hermione glanced at her watch. "We better hurry if we need to get to the dungeons in time." She started to speed-walk down the hall. Sirius ran to catch up with her.

"What, you've never been late to a detention before?" he asked sarcastically.

"I've never been in detention before," Hermione said sheepishly.

"What?" Sirius asked in an outraged tone. "Oh, and you were the tops of your classes too I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

Sirius said nothing, but he did take note on how fast Hermione was travelling, and for being new here she definitely knew her way around. He was about to comment but ceased when Professor Smirch came into view. The Professor was quite young, only in her twenties but she gave off an ominous demeanor that would send any student into tears by just a glare. Her black hair was let down long to reveal a shine that could only be produced from magic. She glared at the two oncoming students.

"You're late," she spat. Hermione and Sirius came to a sudden halt.

"Tell us something we don't know," Sirius grumbled.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that Black," Smirch snapped. "Follow me." She spun around on her heal and into her office. Sirius and Hermione entered the Potions dungeon reluctantly.

The office looked the same as it did in the future except the name plate on the teacher's desk read _Professor B. Smirch_ instead of _Professor S. Snape_.

"You are to reorganize these two shelves of potion ingredients so that they are in alphabetical order _with no magic_. I don't care if you talk. Just don't go snogging each other!" She added that last part directly at Sirius. Sirius just grinned mischievously. Hermione rolled her eyes but at the same time wondered how many times Sirius had gotten caught doing that. "I will be in my office, but I would advise you not to come in to ask me questions. You can leave once it's done." She crossed the room and slammed the door shut that lead into her office.

"All right, let's get this over with," Hermione said. "I don't fancy being here till ten at night."

"Who would?" Sirius asked.

"Good point. Let's start."

They first took all of the jars out of the two shelves.

"Let's start with the A's," Hermione said absently.

"Really? I thought we should start with the Z's," Sirius asked sarcastically.

They continued to work for the next hour. To ease the tedious minutes, Sirius informed Hermione of what not to do during Potions class by telling her stories. One included Sirius making his wolfsbane do the disco while the teacher was lecturing the class about immaturity.

After hearing all those stories about Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James, she was blown away at their skill level. One could argue that their intellect level was higher than Hermione's (minus Peter). Other than their brilliant schemes being ingenious, Hermione thought some were rather funny, which was odd for Hermione. She usually disapproved of all useless pranks. Take the Weasely twins for example. The only schemes she actually liked were the ones that had a purpose other than causing mischief among the castle.

Sirius admitted to himself that this was his best detention ever. Here he was, talking to this pretty cute girl in an empty classroom. But the best part was making her laugh; it was addictive. Every time she laughed, Sirius couldn't help but laugh or at least smile along with her. What struck Sirius to be odd was she would not talk about her old school. From his experience, girls loved to talk about themselves, but this girl would do anything but that. All Hermione mentioned was her parents were muggles before her eyes widened and her mouth shut close. Sirius decided to not push it; _Maybe__ she didn't have a choice about leaving her own school_, he thought.

Once they finished, they left without bidding Professor Smirch goodbye. Hermione looked at her watch.

"Merlin's Beard, it's almost ten o'clock!" she said in utter amazement.

"What?" Sirius asked, even though he had heard he the first time.

"Padfoot!"

Hermione looked down the halls, expecting to see James, since she had just heard him yell, only to see Sirius laughing.

"What?" she asked.

"Hold on," he said to Hermione. He took a small mirror out from his pocket. Instead of his reflection being there, James' head was inside the mirror. "Yeah Prongs?" he asked the mirror.

"Are you finished with you detention?"

"Yeah."

"Whoa," Hermione breathed. She stepped behind Sirius to see James better. "I've read about these mirrors. Where did you get them?"

"Oh, I forgot you were with him, Hermione," James said, a bit more downhearted than he was aiming for. "So _that's_ why you ran so late."

"We were just talking, mate," Sirius said. He couldn't hold back his grin though.

"Hm mmm," James said, still unconvinced. "When did you finish?"

"Just a minute or so ago," Hermione answered.

"You?" Sirius asked.

"Quite awhile ago," he said noncommittally.

Sirius and Hermione started to walk. Sirius held out the mirror so James could see both of their faces.

"Guess what Padfoot?" James asked excitedly.

"You got another detention?" Sirius guessed.

"Better," James answered. He seemed to be bouncing up and down, switching from one foot to the other. "Lily actually spoke to me without biting my head off!"

Sirius had to hold back his laugh. "That's—that's great Prongs!" he choked out, trying to sound as if this wasn't the funniest thing he ever heard from James.

"_Hey, are you talking to Sirius and Hermione?_" Sirius and Hermione heard from the mirror.

"Yeah Moony, want to talk to them?" James yelled to someone that was probably standing near him.

"_Sure_," They twosome heard. Next thing Hermione and Sirius saw was Remus' face next to James. "How was your first detention?" Remus asked Hermione.

"Rather funny, actually," Hermione answered. Remus raised his eyebrows. "I heard some amusing stories from Sirius."

"Uh-oh, what did you tell her Padfoot?" Remus asked worriedly.

"Just a very interesting story about both of you," Hermione said to Remus and James, whose faces instantly turned cold, "and how you two entered the Great Hall one morning while forgetting to put on you robes."

Remus and James choked out a laugh.

"Did Sirius happen to mention the time _he_—" Remus started.

"Oh, look at the time," Sirius interrupted. "We better hurry if we want to get back to the common room before curfew."

"Since when do you care about curfew?" James asked.

"Probably since we were about to share some of his embarrassing moments with a girl," Remus answered.

"See you guys soon," Sirius said loudly. He broke the connection and placed the mirror in his pocket carefully. "Come on," he said hurriedly to Hermione. "I know for a fact that a kitten called Mrs. Norris roams around this corridor around this time at night."

As if on cue, they heard a meow just a few meters to their left. "Quick!" Sirius grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her into a giant crack in the wall. The crack was actually quite narrow so when they were facing each other inside it, their bodies were practically pushed up against each other. They waited in absolute silence until Mrs. Norris passed by. They waited a few more minutes just incase she decided to come back, as she usually did. Hermione stared intently at Sirius' face while his head was forced to look the other way. If he faced Hermione, their noses would almost be touching.

"I think she's gone," Sirius said at long last. He squeezed out of the narrow crack as Hermione followed him. He looked down at their hands to find them still interlocked. He quickly let go of her hand and muttered an apology. "We better go."

"Yeah, or else Mr. Filch will have our heads," Hermione added absentmindedly.

Sirius looked at Hermione as if to question how she knew about Filch, but decided that Remus must have told her.

They walked up in silence all the way into Gryffindor Tower. Hermione didn't stay long to chat; once she saw Lily wasn't in the common room, she practically ran upstairs to find her.

Sirius was at the moment running over the past few hours in his mind. He was basically grinning from ear to ear as he flopped down on the couch next to Harry. He even decided to challenge Harry at wizard chess. Sirius found out, much to his pleasure, that Harry was almost as bad as he was.

"Moony is the wizard chess king," Sirius told Harry.

Harry was about to nod but remembered that he wasn't supposed to know who Moony was. "Who?"

"Oh, right," Sirius said, smacking his head. "The Marauders kind of gave each other nicknames. Remus is Moony. Peter is Wormtail. James is Prongs. And I'm Padfoot."

Harry chuckled, heightening his oblivious effect. "Those are pretty random names. What do they stand for?"

Sirius' face didn't falter. He had practiced this so many times. "They're just names, no meaning behind them."

"I don't know about you guys," James said to the Marauders and Harry (they were the only people left in the common room), "but scrubbing bed pans tired me out. I'm turning in."

Everyone else grumbled in agreement. They all got up and slowly made their way upstairs and into their beds.

"G' night everyone," James said through the closed curtains.

"Good night," Harry said, only to hear a snore in return from James and Peter. He chuckled to himself before falling asleep.

Sirius and Remus weren't especially tired, but seeing as everyone was asleep, they decided to join their friends in their dreamful sleep.

A/N: Nice and long... So, was it good? I hope so. Would you care to review?

**Pieceocake- Put** the pitchforks down! You'll be getting more even faster once finals are done and over with.

**Hi Im Crazy- **I'm glad someone commented on my apartment of miseries. Every time I read it I still give a chuckle.

**Darcy- **Remus and Hermione probably won't officially get together. Don't worry!

**Kitty katty- **I hope you mean sick as in good… if so, thanks!

**Luna Gypsy- **You're not the only one. But alas, our wee little Hermione is a goody goody, so she won't be breaking the rules anytime soon… unless Sirius gets to her…

**Gabrielle Madden-Lovato- **Harry and Hermione, in one of the upcoming chapters, are going to have a fight, and that's when Sirius comes in. I don't think Remus is going to actually hook up with Hermione…

**Mane Black- **Dang straight! Of course Hermione and Sirius should be together! And about bringing Sirius back after they are back in their own time, of course! Sirius shouldn't have been dead in the first place!

Thanks to all you reviewers out there! I'll update soon!


	7. Chapter 7: The Unexpected

A/N: Hey all! I am so sorry I took so long… finals and then my graduation… but I promise it'll be quicker once summer begins (which it already has). Oooo did anyone see Prisoner of Azkaban? I thought Sirius was a bit funnier in the movie… if you haven't seen it, go buy tickets! It's good.

I don't own any Harry Potter related things or any songs a certain Slytherin sings.

**Chapter 7:** **The Unexpected **

Sunday morning breakfast was regrettably uneventful. All Gryffindor sixth years were, at the most, half awake; James almost fell asleep in his bacon and eggs. The incident that made James and Sirius' frown turn upside down took place right outside the Great Hall after they finished their breakfast.

Lily Evans was chatting away with Katie Rawson, a sixth year Ravenclaw prefect. She was talking about her O.W.L.s when someone hastily, not to mention angrily, shoved past her and knocked her to the ground. The intruder's books were knocked out of his greasy hands and onto the floor. As he went to pick them up, Snape spat, "Watch where you're going, Mudbloods."

James, who had seen this assault, went to jump on Snape only to have Sirius grab a fistful of James' robes and yank him back.

"Just watch, Prongs," Sirius whispered in James' ear.

Snape continued to speed down the hall. In a viewer's eye, it just seemed as if he had forgotten something and came to a sudden halt. But to Snape, he felt this ball of magic travelling slowly up his throat. He clenched his jaw shut as if to send it back down. The moment he couldn't hold it in, he cursed, "Oh bloody hell," before he burst into song.

"Young man, there's no need to feel down.

I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.

I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town

There's no need to be unhappy."

Snape was rooted to the ground. _Damn spell won't let me get out of here_, he thought while he sang the second part of the first verse. He could hear the laughter ringing throughout the halls.

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. James just smirked evilly as he went to help Lily and Katie off the ground. In his mind, James thought YMCA was the perfect song for revenge.

Lily knew she could not stop this, since Snape had to end the curse himself. She couldn't stand watching Snape get tormented so she left the entrance hall without another word. Katie hurried after her.

Once Lily and Katie stormed out, James stood by Sirius to watch the embarrassment. Both Marauders just stood a few meters in front of Snape with their arms folded over their chest and arrogant, malicious smirks stuck on their faces. They remained there through verses one, two, and three, and both boys would grow pinker from laughter. When it came to the repeating refrain at the end, Sirius was almost in tears.

"They have everything for you men to enjoy,

You can hang out with all the boys…

Y-M-C-A … you'll find it at the Y-M-C-A!"

Sirius couldn't hold it in. He jumped up and made a 'Y' with his arms just like Muggles did when they danced to the song. 'M' 'C' 'A'!

James rolled his head back in pure jollity. Snape was glaring daggers, swords, arrows, curses, whatever you prefer. If looks could kill, James and Sirius would be six feet under. And Snape singing YMCA while glaring death made James laugh even more.

Snape clenched his jaw shut the moment the song ended. Instead of cursing James and Sirius' guts out, he asked in a low voice, "What is it?"

"What's what?" James asked sweetly.

"How do I get this off?" Snape asked again, his lips scarcely moving.

"Repeat after me," Sirius said smugly. Snape rolled his eyes, he should have seen this coming. "Gryffindor kicks Slytherin arse."

Snape, still glaring, made an impulse to roll his eyes again but held it back. "Gryffindor kicks… Slytherin arse," he muttered so only James and Sirius could hear. "_Corpo__ Ignis!_" he yelled at James before the two Marauders could laugh at Snape. James fell to his knees and gave a bloodcurdling scream. Before Sirius knew, he was cursed too. "_Impedimentia__!_" Sirius was thrown up against the nearest wall; some bone in his body gave a sickening crunch. Snape's mouth twitched as if to smile, but thought better of it. Snape ran out of the hall before James and Sirius were well enough to curse him in retaliation.

Hermione then walked out of the Great Hall, finally finished with breakfast. She was hand in hand with Harry, talking quickly about a hilarious story Sirius had told her from their detention. She stopped in her tracks as she heard James' screams. She slipped her hands out of Harry's as she ran over to James.

"James, what happened?" she asked urgently.

"Corpo… ignis…" he said between pain-filled gasps.

Hermione's face hardened; it was a spell that made the victim feel as if his or her body was on fire. She muttered the countercurse. Before she checked to see if he had fully recovered, she caught a glimpse of the near-unconscious Sirius. "Sirius!" Hermione jumped up and ran over to Sirius. He was lying on the ground with his back up against the wall while rubbing his head.

"I'm okay," he said in a strained sort of voice. He slowly stood up. He had to grab hold of Hermione's shoulder to steady himself. "Or I'll be okay."

"You sure?" Hermione asked. She looked straight into his eyes.

He nodded. "With you here, yes."

Harry walked out of the Great Hall, finally finished with breakfast. He was hand in hand with Hermione, listening to her rant and rave about some ridiculous story Sirius had told her. Harry sensed her stop behind him, so he turned around to look at her. He felt her hands slip out of his; she had ran over to help a screaming James.

Harry understood why Hermione would help someone in pain, but the fact that she just left Harry without a thought dug deeper. She just dropped him to help one of the Marauders. Hermione's face as she saw Sirius surprised Harry too; she was genuinely worried. It wasn't the type of worried she had when a classmate of hers got hurt, but it was the face she saved for when Harry was in pain.

Harry jerked himself away from those thoughts long enough to help James. Harry walked over to his young father to help him stand.

"What happened?" Harry asked in what he hoped to be a concerned tone.

"Snape cursed us," James wheezed. "Felt as if my entire body was on fire." James sighed, then straightened himself up. "Bloody, he likes the dark stuff." James shook himself as if to rid the pain. "I better get focused. We have tryouts today!"

**Later that day on the Quidditch Pitch**

James was pacing in front of a line of his classmates. "All right everyone. As all of you know, we need two new chasers this year. Nam Kirke, Brooks Goldstein, Moria Anderson, and Harry Thewler are trying out for the new position. The rest of you are here to help judge and to watch them in action." He paused. "We will go through a series of trials to test which two shall make the team. You should already know of the three tests since they were posted on the board in the common room awhile ago. Let's get started!" James clapped his hands together. He led all nine people out onto the field.

Harry was amazed at how serious James could act. _I guess Quidditch brings the best out of us_, Harry thought as he clutched his new broomstick, Nimbus 1001. (A/N: Check _Quidditch Through the Ages_ if you have it, it's in there! I figured it was the newest of the Nimbuses.) As Harry mounted his broom, he heard yells off to his right. He glanced at the stands to find the other three Marauders cheering from the stands. No Hermione in sight.

"They always come to all Gryffindor tryouts and games," said a voice behind him. Harry turned around to see a strawberry-blonde girl standing on his right clutching a beater's bat.

"Yeah, we all know why Sirius comes though," someone said slyly to Harry's left. The boy had another beater bat slung over his shoulder. His hair reminded Harry of Bill Weasley's style, except this boy's was dark brown. They were both fully clad in Quidditch uniforms.

"Oh I wish," the girl replied while rolling her eyes. "I'm Bridget Bell by the way. Gryffindor Beater." She stuck out her gloved hand. Harry shook it. "And this," she prodded the boy with her bat with a mocking disgust, "is Spencer Spinnet."

"Harry Thewler," Harry said politely. "How long have you been on the team?"

"This is our fourth and final year," Spencer answered proudly.

"So you're seventh years?" Harry asked.

"Spinnet!" James yelled. Spencer spun around wide-eyed. Bridget just sniggered. "Stop distracting my Chasers and get your arse up in the air!"

Harry laughed along with Bridget as Spencer flew up into the air cursing about how he always got blamed for talking. Harry pushed off the ground and soared into the air. The wind on his face was something he had missed painfully. He flew over the three hoops to practice.

"Good Harry," James commented quietly as Harry made his fifth goal in a row. "Let's see how you do against our keeper: Zach Wood."

Harry chuckled quietly to himself; there were a lot of familiar names and faces in this time.

Harry ended up getting seven out of ten through the hoops. Nam and Brooks, when adding up both of their scores, got a total of nine goals. Brooks almost knocked out the keeper on his seventh try. Moria scored nine.

On the second drill (passing), Moria still was the best. Nam had beaten Harry at that one. But when it came to the third and final trial (flying/speed), Harry was by far the best. He dodged every Bludger that flew across the path, and swerved around all other players.

Finally, when the tryout came to a close, it was unanimous that Moria Anderson and Harry Thewler were the two latest additions to the team.

James rounded everyone up (he had dismissed Nam and Brooks to take care of Nam's bleeding nose) outside the lockers rooms.

"I give you our team," he said simply. Everyone cheered and went to change out of their semi-sweaty uniforms.

Dinner had already passed when Harry took Hermione to an empty classroom. They both sat cross-legged on the desks while munching on some sweets Lily had given both of them. Harry was reliving his Quidditch tryouts.

"James is taking his job as Quidditch Captain," Harry said. He tore off a piece of a licorice wand violently and started to chew. "Oh, did I tell you about the speed drill?" Harry asked excitedly. He was acting like a hyper little child. Hermione shook her head, trying not to laugh. "Oh, it was the best! I was the fastest there. I even beat James in a side race. We had to make it across the field without dropping the Quaffle and had to dodge the Bludgers too. One of the other guys, Nam Kirke, while flying down the pitch, stopped suddenly to avoid a Bludger, but he ended up smashing his nose into his own broomstick." Harry laughed while Hermione gave a polite chuckle. "It was really fun…" Awkward silence followed right afterward.

"Harry, your mother is really nice," Hermione said after a strenuous pause. She held up one of the sweets as if to show an example.

"Yeah, if only my father was just as nice as her…" Harry said sadly.

"Look, from what I've seen, your father is a nice person and an even more loyal friend, but when it comes to Slytherins…" she trailed off.

"He's as bad as Malfoy?" Harry suggested grimly.

"Not necessarily," Hermione said so strongly Harry looked straight at her. "He's only played pranks so far. Actually, they _are_ sort of funny…"

Harry stared at her.

"What?" she asked, shifting under his gaze.

"You find them funny? The Marauders, who, you know, maraud?" he exclaimed. "What happened to the prank-hating Hermione I used to know?" He was on the verge of hysteria.

"She started to lighten up at the end of her fifth year, thanks to Fred and George," she said sharply. "And anyways, I can't stop them. As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Hermione shrugged.

"So you're telling me that you want to join the Marauders?" Harry said. He exactly put his thumb on why he was angry, but inside he flared with irritation

"No," Hermione said quickly. "I just don't see why you're so judgmental. I'm sure they're all rather nice guys…"

Harry froze. "And what do you mean by that?" He recalled the incident from earlier that morning.

"I mean that they seem to be all around nice guys," Hermione said slowly. Why was Harry acting so strange? "Is there anything wrong with that?"

Harry scoffed but said nothing.

"Harry," she said softly, "do you want to tell me something?" Harry folded his arms and looked at the teacher's desk as though trying to move it by thought. "What do you have against the Marauders?"

Harry tried to bottle his anger, but it just rushed out of him like water from a broken dam. "I have something against two certain Marauders who have taken a liking in you!" he yelled.

"What?" Hermione asked. She looked perplexed. "Who?"

"You know, for someone who gives advice about feelings," Harry said almost acidly, "you sure are oblivious to the ones about you." He glared at Hermione, who returned the glare at equal heat. "Remus and Sirius of course!"

Hermione just stared at astonishment. After the shock passed over, she managed to stutter, "Remus and I… we're only good friends. Besides, Lily told me that he likes a fifth year Gryffindor," she added uncertainly. Lily had actually said that a girl liked Remus, but she never said he liked her back. "But Sirius?" She shook her head. "From what I've seen and heard, he's just the flirts-with-everyone guy. You don't need to worry about him." Harry raised his eyebrow. "Saumya told me he's dating a seventh year."

"Saumya?" Harry repeated, distracted.

"Oh, Saumya Kim. She's a friend of Lily's. Also in my dormitory. Actually, she's dating Mundungus Fletcher at the moment."

"Dung is here?" Harry asked, surprised. He forgot about his boiling anger for the moment.

"Seventh year, I think."

They sat there in silence for the second time that evening.

"Still, what about Remus?" Harry asked, his anger revived to full power.

"I think I can handle turning down a boy, Harry," Hermione said impatiently. She could have smacked her head for not thinking this before. "You think I'll leave you for _him_, don't you?" she asked angrily. "He was my bloody professor, Harry!" Harry was taken aback for Hermione's choice of words. "I'm not going to date a guy who turns out to be eighteen years older than me."

Harry gave a disagreeing gaze that infuriated Hermione even more. "If you can't trust me, well then fine!" She jumped off the table and grabbed some of the sweets. "Talk to me when you're ready," she said huffily as she crossed the room. She swung the door open and ran all the way to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione sat down in one of the chairs in a far corner. She curled up and just sat there thinking angrily. When Harry entered in the room ten minutes later, she jumped off the chair and, without another glance at him, walked up the stairs that lead to the dormitories.

Harry was expecting this. He sat down next to James by the fireplace and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Good job at tryouts by the way," James said cheerfully.

"Why are you so happy?" Harry snapped as he pulled his fingers from his hair, leaving it worse than before.

"Lily just asked if she could borrow a quill," he said dreamily. He flopped back against the back of the couch with glazed eyes.

Harry's anger was evaporating into laughter as he heard this. "You're happy because she's using your quill?" he repeated, miraculously without any laughter.

James nodded absentmindedly. "Not only that, but she asked me in a polite way. And I was her second choice in this room."

"Has he gotten over Lily's most recent action yet?" Remus asked from behind the twosome. He and Sirius had just entered the common room and spotted the two mats of jet black hair instantaneously.

"I bet you he will put an anti-aging spell on the quill once he gets it back," Sirius joked, "so that he can keep it forever without it rotting away."

Harry didn't know how to act towards Remus and Sirius; he had just accused them of liking Hermione. But then he thought of some wise words that someone had once told him. 'Don't let a girl come between friendships.' Harry did want to patch things up with Hermione, but in the mean time, he wasn't going to treat his father's friends like dirt.

"Yeah, I bet so," Harry joined in. "He'll show it to his kids and say 'Kids, this is a quill young Lily Evans borrowed from me back in my young days,'" he said in an old, almost wheezy voice. Sirius howled with laughter while Remus laughed lightly.

"Oh, very witty, guys," James drawled. "I'll do nothing of the sort because if today it's a quill, then tomorrow it's some parchment, and then before you know it, it's a date!"

"Next thing you're going to say is that borrowing a quill leads to marriage and twelve kids?" Sirius asked while chuckling.

"Well if the shoes fits…" James said revealing a grin.

Sirius laughed, but suddenly stopped. "Does this mean I'm going to marry Moony?" he asked in a serious tone. "'Cuz I've borrowed many quills from him." Remus edged away from his friend. "Naw, I was just kidding!" Sirius barked with laughter again as the releif spread onto Remus' face.

"But seriously," James exclaimed. "The start of Evans' and my relationship could have started over a measly quill."

"Sure thing, Prongs," Sirius said, clapping his friend on the back. "Whatever you say."

James sat up suddenly. "Hey, have you guys seen Peter?"

"How did your mind change from thoughts about Lily to Peter so quickly?" Harry asked bitterly.

"You see, Peter always agrees with me when these two idiots mock my obsession with Evans," James accused in a jesting manner. "I wonder what happened to him…"

"He got jinxed by two Slytherin prats." Peter appeared by Remus' side.

Sirius was the first to look at Peter. "Wormtail, what the hell happened to you?" Sirius asked with half amusement, half concern.

Peter was a mess. There was strawberry and vanilla ice cream melting on his head. But what amazed the group of boys the most was where Peter's arm should have been, there were two unpeeled bananas hanging from his shoulders.

"As I was walking back from the kitchen," Peter explained, "with a banana spilt in my hand, I got jumped by two Slytherins. I think they had too many butterbeers…"

"Who?" James asked impatiently.

Peter bowed his head and avoided all eye contact.

"Come on Peter," Sirius urged. "You can tell us. Who was it?"

"You're brother," Peter said quietly. Sirius' eye narrowed as he glared at the opposite fireplace. "And his new girlfriend."

"That new Slytherin prefect, Callie Snyde?" James asked.

"The very same," Peter answered.

Sirius still said nothing.

"Uh, guys… can you help me out here?" Peter asked timidly.

"Sure," Remus offered as he brandished his wand. "I'd stand back a titch though."

Peter crossed to the center of the room and held out his arms. Remus tried to perform a difficult countercurse, but all he did was add a cheery on top of Peter's head.

James, however, turned to Sirius. "You all right?" he asked softly.

Sirius hadn't taken his glaring eyes off the fire since Peter mentioned his brother.

Harry was about to give some comforting advice about Regulus, but remembered at the last moment that he wasn't supposed to know about the younger Mr. Black.

"What's wrong with Sirius' brother?" Harry asked James.

"He's a git for one thing," Sirius growled. He had still not taken his eyes away from the fireplace, but started to show another emotion than anger. "He's just like everyone else in my horrible family: treats Half-bloods and Muggle-borns like their mud, they would lick Voldemort's shoes clean if they had the chance, and to top it all off, not one of them wasn't a Slytherins." Sirius sighed. "They're pretty much everything I stand against."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Harry said sympathetically, "my cousin is a bullying idiot. Although, he couldn't tell the difference between his own reflection and a pig." Sirius' grim faced cracked into a weak smile as he looked away from the fire. "He used to use me as a punching bag… until I became a wizard of course," Harry continued. "Then I had my fun." He smiled mischievously.

Sirius broke out into a full grin. "Where does he go to school?"

"Er, he's a Muggle, so nowhere you know," Harry said quickly. "Same as my aunt and uncle. I have the ahem, _pleasure_ of living with them."

"So do you hate your, er—current family too?" Sirius asked.

"Completely," Harry declared in a heavy tone.

"Am I the only one who likes my family?" James asked heartily.

"No, I like your family too, Prongs," Sirius said cheekily.

"Guys?" Peter cried out from the center of the common room. "Can one of you take over for Remus?" In addition to the ice cream, bananas, and cherry, Peter now had chocolate sauce and nuts sprinkled all over him and whipped cream covering his chin as to look like a beard. "Remus just isn't helping very much," he said apologetically to Remus.

James chuckled. "Here, let the Transfiguration Master finish the job." He stood up, walked over to the dessert-covered Peter, and pushed Remus aside. James tried the countercurse, but ended up placing a large dessert bowl underneath Peter's feet.

Sirius, while laughing, turned back to Harry. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you live with your aunt and uncle? What happened to your parents?" he asked quietly.

Harry could have smacked his head in total frustration. He didn't know about the real Thewler parents. He was saved from answering Sirius' question; James had yelled out in triumph. He had finally cleared up Peter so he was back to his regular form.

"I told you I was a Master!" he shouted again. "And you doubted me," he said to Remus, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Prongs, keep it down. You're going to wake up McGonagoll if you keep this up!" Remus hissed.

"Oh, you're just jealous that I succeed where you didn't," James said to Remus while they walked up the back stairs. Peter followed after them.

"Shall we?" Harry said.

Sirius yawned. "I could use the sleep."

They both sluggishly walked up the stairs and into their dormitories. Sleep soon took over all five boys.

The next few days proved to be quite entertaining for Harry and Hermione: it was their first days of classes during 1977.

On the first day during Potions class (which Harry found to be a titch easier without Snape breathing down his neck), was disastrous. Peter was aiming one of James' firework into Snape's cauldron, but it accidentally landed underneath the cauldron in the fire. Its explosion was even greater than it would have been. The blast made a hole in Snape's cauldron, so the contents leaked onto the floor everywhere. It took the rest of the class time to fix the mess, because the potion was a Permanent Sticking Potion.

The second and third days were ordinary in the eyes of the Marauders. In the middle of Transfiguration class they tricked a Hufflepuff into setting his pig on fire. The flaming pig ran out into the halls squealing as if it would never squeal again. Finally Professor Flitwick heard the pig outside his classroom and extinguished the flame. Madame Pomfrey grudgingly fixed it back to full health.

Hermione was getting worried. Even though she had been slightly miffed about Harry's accusation, she still wanted to talk to him. But through the past week, all Harry did was hang out with James or Lily. He was also wrapped up in Quidditch practice.

Thursday, deep into the night, Hermione sat alone in the common room curled up in the middle of a couch. Harry was out with James, having a bit of extra Quidditch practice. Lily was asleep in her dormitory. Peter was out watching Harry and James. Who knows where Sirius and Remus were. So Hermione sat alone, her mind focused on Harry. She didn't even notice when two boys came up and sat down on either side of her.

"Hermione?" Remus asked tenderly.

"What's up?" Sirius asked in the same tone.

"Oh just thinking," she said in a would-be blasé tone if her features hadn't given her true feelings away.

"Then why do you look so distraught?" Remus asked, completely unconvinced at Hermione's words.

"I was just… thinking about my old school," she said slowly.

"Oh Reeeemus!" A girl, not much younger than themselves, popped her head through the portrait hole and called out Remus' name.

"Yes Amanda?" Remus said. He stood up.

"Tonight's your night to lead the new prefects around," she said brightly, stepping into the room fully now. "Come on!'

"All right, all right," Remus said impatiently. He turned to Hermione. "We can talk later if you want." Hermione nodded. Remus turned to Sirius. "_Goodbye_ Sirius," he said pointedly, a warning more than anything. Remus turned on his heel and strode out of the common room with Amanda.

"So, what about your old school?" Sirius asked.

"Hm?" Hermione turned her head backs towards Sirius. "What what about my old school?"

"You said you were thinking about your old school," Sirius said. He slid closer to Hermione. "What about it?"

"Oh, just my friends," Hermione said nervously; she eyed the distance between her and Sirius. "I really miss them."

"What about your friends?" Sirius asked in a compassionate tone.

"Harry, Ron, and I had a very strong friendship. And then Sir—someone close to Harry died," she said quickly to covered up her slip-up. "Harry'll never be the same even though I did help him through some difficult times…"

"So what is it between you and Harry?" Sirius asked curiously.

"We, er—I honestly don't know," she answered with a sigh. "We sort of just had a fight. And now he won't talk to me. But I'm not sure I want to be his girlfriend. It was nicer when we were just friends…"

"Well that's good news," Sirius said softly. He inched closer.

Hermione looked at him. "Why—"

But Hermione was interrupted by the most unexpected…for her at least. Sirius leaned in for a deep kiss, taking Hermione completely by surprise. She tried to pull back but Sirius took his hands and placed them around her neck, holding her in. They sat there innocently kissing in front of the faint glow of the fireplace, one in pure enjoyment, the other in absolute puzzlement.

A/N: Oooo a cliffy! Can you stand the suspension? And I noticed thanking and answering all of your reviews (which I love) will take too long, and I'm really excited to write the next chapter, I'll just thank all of you! So, THANKS! I love you guys! I'll love you guys even more if you review!


	8. Chapter 8: Hermione’s Revenge

A/N: Ok, I just want to warn you that I LOVE to make up names, so beware. I might go a bit overboard.

I don't own anything related to Harry Potter, but I DO own the tap-dancing cheese. And now for the next chapter!

**Chapter 8: Hermione's Revenge**

Hermione pulled away from Sirius a little later than was wise. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked a little less angrily than she hoped for. She was still half-dazed from the sweetness of the kiss.

"Er, kissing you," he said with a grin. He knew from the way her body relaxed the moment their lips touched that she had enjoyed it. But why was she resisting? "Is that ok?"

"Yes, I mean, no." Hermione was completely frustrated with herself.

"Which is it?" he asked calmly, still with a smirk plastered on his face. "Yes or no?" He paused, looking her over with a twinkle in his eyes. "'Cuz from what I could tell, love, I wasn't the only one having fun."

Hermione jumped off of the couch while giving a frustrated "Ugh". She started towards the back stairs when Sirius grabbed her arm and spun her around. He let go.

"You said yourself that you didn't like Harry anymore. What's holding you back?" he asked. He had bent his knees a little so he could look her straight in the eye.

"You," Hermione said dramatically. "You're holding me back." Sirius took a step back, his face shining with hurt. Hermione was sad to hurt his feelings, but she had to end this quick. "I'm sorry Sirius, but I can't do this with you."

At that moment, Harry and James entered the common room. They were laughing about some stupid thing James did during their practice, but stopped completely at the scene before them. _What happened here? _were the words that ran through both James and Harry's heads.

Hermione looked at Harry with sorrowful eyes before spinning around and running up the stairs behind her. Harry heard a sniff before she completely disappeared, from both sight and sound.

Harry stormed up to Sirius while growling, "What did you do to her?"

Sirius took a step back, his mind still blank from Hermione's words. "Nothing!" he said unconvincingly. Harry raised his eyebrows. James slowly walked up to Harry and Sirius. "All right, well I might have kissed her…"

"You kissed her?" Harry repeated faintly. He fell into a chair behind him at the impact of Sirius' statement. _My godfather just kissed my girlfriend,_ Harry thought frantically. _How wrong is that?! _

James just stared at Sirius. "Didn't work though, did it?" He followed Harry and sat down in a nearby chair.

"What didn't work?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between James and Sirius. His eyes rested on Sirius' confused face. "Er, did she kiss you back by any chance?"

Sirius looked straight at Harry. He could see the fear in Harry's eyes. Sirius could understand Harry being worried about his girlfriend being 'stolen', but there seemed to be another reason for his alarm. What was it?

Something deep inside Sirius told him not to hurt Harry's feelings. "No," Sirius said firmly. "She didn't."

A sigh of relief came from Harry. "Good."

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Er, don't take it personally," Harry said quickly. "It's just, er—I really like her." With that final statement, he walked upstairs to change out of his rather dirty Quidditch uniform.

Sirius turned towards James.

"Why did you do it, Padfoot?" James asked tiredly. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I swear, you seem to act according to your hormones more than you do to your own brain," he muttered under his breath.

"Ah but I have reason," Sirius said, ignoring James' last comment. He started to relive the events that lead up to Hermione's departure. "But when I asked what was holding her back, she answered 'you.'"

"Me?" James asked incredibly.

"No, you git, me."

"Oh… I wonder why."

"Same here!" Sirius exclaimed, feeling quite irritated. Usually he was good at figuring out girls (since they were almost all the same at Hogwarts), but Hermione was a separate case completely. "I mean, I haven't done anything bad yet, have I?"

James just shrugged. "Who knows…" He smiled. "Hey, maybe she can read minds and see all those dirty thoughts running through your head." He laughed.

Sirius rolled his eyes, but played along anyways. "Or maybe she can see into the future and saw me kill someone."

"Naw," James said, excitedly sitting up in his chair, "she's definitely from the future and has seen you twenty year older."

James and Sirius both sat there laughing while coming up with ideas about Hermione, each one more ridiculous than the last. Remus and Peter walked in ten minutes later. James started to describe Sirius' little encounter with Hermione to Remus and Peter. They made their way up to the dormitory where they found Harry sound asleep. The Marauders quietly got ready for bed.

When James and Peter feel asleep (which didn't take too long), Remus prodded the closed curtains covering Sirius bed.

"Hey Padfoot," Remus whispered. He laid back on his stomach in his bed, pillow underneath his chin, staring at Sirius' bed. There was no answer. "Sirius!" he hissed. Remus shot up and smacked the side of Sirius' curtain. There was a loud thud and a few profanities. The curtains around Sirius' bed slowly opened.

Sirius' head popped out from the darkness of his bed. He rubbed the forehead. "Yeah?" Sirius whispered back, but sounded as though he was in minor pain.

"Do you… why do you like Hermione?" Remus asked hesitantly.

Sirius slowly lowered his hand from his forehead. He made himself a comfortable position in his bed so he could look at Remus without hurting his neck in addition to his forehead.

"I mean," Remus continued before Sirius could answer, "you aren't just chasing after her as a new goal, are you?"

"I wouldn't do that," Sirius said, feigning a hurt tone.

"You've done it before!" Remus exclaimed louder than was wise. He quieted his voice down. "Bernadette O'Rourke, Margaret Finnigan, do I need to carry on?"

"Oh come off it, Moony," Sirius said irritably. "That was only in our fourth year. Anyways, you guys dared me to lay off of Snivellus for a month, so I had to do something to pass the time—"

"My point is, _Sirius_," Remus interrupted, "that you tend to use girls."

"Hey, what about Bridget?" Sirius asked in a dignified tone.

"Oh yeah, you're doing a real good job with her," Remus said sarcastically. "You're kissing another girl while going out with her!" he hissed.

Sirius looked dismayed. He had no comeback; Remus had hit the nail on the head. "But do _you_ like Hermione?" he asked suddenly.

Remus furrowed his eyebrows. After a few moments of thought, he replied, "Yeah, I think I do."

Sirius said no more, but fell back on his bed while shutting his curtains gently closed. Remus followed suit and soon fell into a deep sleep.

&& && && &&

Hermione awoke the next morning feeling oddly refreshed. This was extremely weird because she had a dream that Harry, Remus, and Sirius were giving her thousands of Chocolate Frog Cards while James and Ron were laughing in the background about tap-dancing cheese. Hermione shook herself from the just plain weirdness of the dream and hopped out of bed to get ready for the school day.

As Lily and Hermione walked into the Great Hall, Hermione kept an eye out for the Marauders. Once she saw that they weren't there, she relaxed a bit. She sat down with Lily, Saumya, Dana, and Freya, or in other words, her roommates. They were happily chatting away when Hermione felt someone's eyes upon her. She immediately looked to her left, expecting to see the Marauders sitting down, but no one was there. She turned around and met a pair of stunningly blue eyes across the aisle. They winked at Hermione before they focused back on another person.

"Hey Lily," Hermione nudged Lily.

She turned from her discussion with Dana. "Hm?"

"Who is that boy? The one at the Hufflepuff table with the really blue eyes?" Hermione asked, trying to sound offhand.

Lily blushed as she spotted him. "That's Kyle McFly," she said sheepishly.

"McFly?" Hermione repeated while chuckling. Memories of an 80's Muggle movie came flooding back to her.

"Oooo, are you talking about Kyle?" Dana Anu squealed, entering their conversation.

"He's gorgeous," Freya Larsson gushed. Saumya Kim rolled her eyes in an obvious manner, as if to give her opinion without using words. "He's one of the best-looking guys here at Hogwarts," Freya continued while ignoring Saumya's scoff.

"Best-looking guy at Hogwarts? You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you?" Sirius appeared beside Hermione as he sat down, closely followed by James, Remus, Peter, and then Harry.

Harry frowned at Sirius' choice of seating arrangements, but said nothing as he sat down next to James, who had smartly placed himself next to Lily.

"No, Black," Lily said, "you'd be in the category of Most Egotistical guy at Hogwarts."

Dana and Freya chuckled nervously, as if not wanting to upset Sirius too much. However, Hermione, Lily, and Saumya laughed openly and heartily.

Sirius frowned. He understood why Lily would laugh: it was her own joke. Saumya just loved a good joke (she had to if she was dating Dung). But Hermione laughing _at_ him left him wounded.

Quite the reverse, Harry and Remus brightened up immensely.

"Ready for Transfiguration today, Hermione?" Remus asked with a smile.

"I hope so…"

As soon as the Gryffindor sixth years were finished with breakfast, they stood up as one and headed out. The girls lagged behind a bit, giggling furiously about something.

The next thing Hermione knew, someone _accidentally _bumped into her from behind. Her books dropped to the floor with a snap.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," said the boy who knocked the books down. He quickly bent down to pick them up. As he stood up, Hermione recognized him as the Hufflepuff with the stunningly blue eyes. She now understood why he was one of the best-looking guys, though she could name a few competitors… He was very well built. _Probably a Quidditch player,_ Hermione thought. His long hair gave off a fiery-red tint as he flashed a smile. "Aren't you, the new girl?" he asked through a toothy smile.

"Er, that's me," Hermione said confidently. She could feel Dana and Freya practically melting into the floor. Saumya, on the other hand, scoffed. "I'm Hermione Snicket."

"Oh, how rude of me. I'm Kyle McFly." He flashed another grin.

Hermione glanced nervously at her girl friends, and spotted the Marauders and Harry. James was in a fit of giggles, and so was Peter (A/N: yes, giggles). But Remus, Sirius, and Harry all wore identical faces: a blend of fear, annoyance, and hate. They stood back with arms folding over their chests and watched avidly.

"Nice to meet you, Kyle," Hermione said graciously as she looked at Kyle again. She threw a flirtatious smile, much to the boys' horror. The girls just stared in awe. "What class do you have next?" Hermione started to walk beside Kyle.

He grinned. "Transfiguration. I believe you do too, am I correct?" he asked knowingly.

"Mm hmm," Hermione answered.

As they all headed off to Transfiguration with the Marauders and Harry in the lead, another Hufflepuff joined them. Mundungus Fletcher. From Harry and Hermione's point of view, he seemed older than most sixth years. Hermione had the sneaking suspicion that he had once gotten held back, like that Slytherin Quidditch Captain did.

Since Lily and Freya were sitting together, Hermione placed herself at the table in front of them with Saumya beside her. Much to Hermione's surprise, the table next to her was occupied by Kyle and Mundungus. James and Harry sat down to the table next to Lily, but not before Harry shot a warning glare to Hermione. Peter was happily sitting alongside Dana in front of Kyle and Dung. Remus and Sirius occupied the table in front of Hermione and Saumya.

Once Professor McGonagoll started instructing them on the day's assignment, Mundungus groaned and smacked his head on the table with a loud _thunk_. Though, McGonagoll didn't falter; Dung had supposedly been doing this everyday ever since his second year.

"Now today we are continuing on learning how to vanish more complex animals." (_Thunk!_) "We had touched this subject last week, but I scarcely think you can perform the spell properly by the beginning of this class," Professor McGonagoll snapped. "It needs a lot of practice." She glared around at all of the kids, her eyes lingering on Peter. "Miss MacTarnahan and Mr. Pettigrew, will you please pass out the animals?"

Hermione was about to whisper to Harry that they did this last year and that it should be a piece of cake, but then she remembered that they weren't talking to each other. She took a ferret from Keegan MacTarnahan grudgingly. One look at the ferret made her feel more chipper: it was a pure white ferret. She turned to Kyle, steering her mind away from Harry (and the replica of Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret).

"You learned this last week?" she asked sweetly. She could sense Sirius and Remus straining to hear their conversation.

"Yeah…" Kyle had been poking Mundungus repeatedly to awake him. Finding it would be easier to awake the dead, he turned to Hermione. "It's not one of the easiest spells. The incantation is—"

"_Evanesco!_" Hermione said almost lazily as she pointed her wand at her ferret. It disappeared altogether with a faint _pop!_ Kyle stared at Hermione in amazement. Hermione blushed slightly under the gaze of not only Kyle, but also Sirius and Remus. They had turned around the moment she started the spell. "We learned it last year at Durmstrang," she said sheepishly.

"Well done, Miss Snicket." Professor McGonagoll briskly walked down the aisle to speculate Hermione's work. She snapped her head towards Peter. "Go ahead. Don't let me stop you."

Peter trembled slightly before regaining his focus. He turned to his iguana. "_E—evanasco!"_ For one fleeting moment, Peter thought he had done the spell right on his first try. The iguana had vanished, but seconds later, almost fifty ravens had appeared out of nowhere. They were spread out all over the room, each giving an earsplitting caw every five seconds. James and Sirius roared with laughter along with a few other students. Peter just blushed and laughed weakly, but stopped abruptly as McGonagoll towered over him with a glare stuck on her face.

It took a total of ten minutes of their class time to sort everything back to normal. No one dared to utter a single word for the rest of the class unless performing the Vanishing Spell.

"What class do you have next?" Kyle asked Hermione as they packed up their bags at the end of class.

"Ancient Runes," she said brightly.

"Then this is where I leave you," he said, giving a slight bow. "I have Charms next."

"All right, have fun!" Hermione said, knowing full well that it sounded cheesy. She grabbed her quills as the bell rang and headed to the Ancient Runes classroom.

There were only a few people there at the time. Since Hermione didn't want to draw any attention onto herself (being in a different timeline and everything), she sat in the back. A minute or two later, she noticed Remus walked into the room. He slipped into the chair next to Hermione.

"Wow, you must really be getting a hang of this place if you beat me to the classroom," he said with a smile.

Hermione could have hit her head in frustration. Why did she always have to rush to class and be the first one there? "What can I say, I learn fast," she replied. She busied herself with getting ready for class.

As she pulled out her translation book, Remus blurted out, "Do you actually like Kyle?"

Hermione looked at him, not sure if she heard him correctly. He looked anxious. "And why would you care who I like, Remus?" Hermione asked, returning to unpacking her bag.

"I care when you're about to make a huge mistake, that's when," he said in an undertone. He, too, pulled out parchment and quills from his tattered old bag.

"What do you mean 'mistake?'" Hermione snapped.

"Good morning everyone!" cried out the Professor as he entered his classroom. Professor Proudfoot was a stout little professor, but always loved a good laugh. "Today is going to be a researching day." He tapped the board with his short wand. "The lost runes of Mirkwood to be exact. Now look under section four. It says that the people of Mirkwood were excellent hunters, but lost one war. Can anyone tell me who they were fighting?"

Hermione tore her eyes away from Remus and raised her hand quickly. "They had joined with farmers of another land to battle Orcans. After that they had to go into hiding and no one has seen them since."

"Good good!" Proudfoot cried out. "Five points to Gryffindor." Hermione beamed. "But their great halls and caverns remain, and there lies their writings. Now, their writing is similar to the ones we learned about last week…"

"Kyle, he's not the guy you want to be with," hissed Remus. It was a good thing they were sitting in the back or else the professor would have heard Hermione give a frustrated yet rather loud sigh.

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"He just isn't," Remus snapped.

"Oh, good argument there. You should try out for the debate team," she said sarcastically.

"What?"

"Never mind," Hermione said hurriedly. "But you're going to have to give me a better reason."

"He's Mr. Popular, and from what I can tell, you aren't into all the attention," Remus said quietly. He looked at her with big eyes.

Hermione didn't answer him but turned her focus to Professor Proudfoot emphasizing the difference between the symbols yumac and yoomak.

&& && && &&

Professor Flitwick was teaching the class about the Disillusionment Charm.

"Now this may be a bit advanced for you all, but I think you can manage," Professor Flitwick squeaked. He glanced particularly at Lily. She straightened up in her chair. "If done correctly, the Disillusionment Charm will turn you into a sort of human chameleon." There was a collective murmur of excitement throughout the classroom. "I daresay this could prove valuable for some." Flitwick's eyes twinkled as they flicked over to James and Sirius in the corner. Lily rolled her eyes. "Now the movement is a sharp tap on the top of the head should do it. And repeat after me." Flitwick cleared his throat. (Sirius and James cleared their throats in the same way very obviously. A few girls giggled.) "_Dillusionous!_"

"_Dillusionous!_" the class mumbled half-heartedly.

"Good good," Flitwick squeaked. "Now, you can either choose to practice on yourself, or on a partner. Off you go!"

Automatically, Sirius and James turned towards each other, brandishing their wands. Harry saw this and looked around for another partner. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Peter was partnerless. Before Peter could get a chance to ask him, Harry tapped Lily on the shoulder. "Can I practice with you?" he asked politely.

Lily just gave a sweet smile. "Sure." She spun around in her chair to face Harry, grabbing her wand in mid-turn.

"From what I hear, you're a whiz at Charms," Harry said, picking up a conversation piece.

Lily tried in vain to fight her blush down.

A few seats back, James noticed Harry talking to Lily and ended up making her blush furiously (though not as red as the Weasley blush).

"How does he do that?" James asked mostly to himself.

"Who now?" Sirius had been listening to Kyle and Mundungus talk that he only faintly heard James talking.

"Harry."

"What about him?"

"He can just talk to Lily. Make her laugh, blush, talk. All I get is a roll of the eyes or insults. How does he do that?" James ranted.

"Who knows, James. It's one of the greatest mysteries of life," Sirius said.

"I guess so…" James said absentmindedly, totally missing Sirius' sarcasm. He turned to face Sirius again. "_Dillusionous!_" he cried out as he hit Sirius hard over the head.

"Jeez, Prongs, did ya have to hit me so hard?… Oh, this feels just plain weird," Sirius mumbled.

"What does it feel like?" James asked, excited not only that his spell worked, but Lily had turned to watch.

"Hard to explain… kinda like a rather cold gooey potion running down my back."

"Uh, Sirius," James said, even more excitedly. "Look down."

Sirius looked down to find, well, nothing. Nothing except the floor pattern imprinted over himself. "Wicked," he exclaimed. He waved his hand in front of James' face. It was as if James' face had been distorted as Sirius' hand flew back and forth in front of it. "Hey Professor!" Sirius called out.

Flitwick looked up from extinguishing a parchment someone had accidentally set on fire. He clapped his hands with glee as James leaned on what seemed to be Sirius' shoulder. James flashed a smile towards Lily, who looked mildly impressed.

"Bravo, Mr. Potter!" Flitwick cried out. "See, class, Mr. Potter has successfully performed the Disillusionment Charm upon Mr. Black. Now, James, care to undo it? The incantation is _Disillusionous!_ The same wand movement."

James cleared his throat and shoved his sleeves up a bit. He rapped Sirius hard on top of the head and cried out, "_Disillusionous!_"

Sirius felt the same gooey sensation, this time hot, glide down his back. He looked down to find his body transformed back to normal. "Phew, you had me worried there Potter," Sirius said. "You're not known for your counter-charms." He ran his hand through his hair. At that moment, the class ruptured in howl of laughter and shrieks of giggles. "What?" Sirius asked, looking around to find James smirking while looking warily at Sirius' head. Sirius' face stoned. "What did you do Potter?" he growled.

James pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to Sirius. "Take a look, mate." James sounded as if he could hardly speak; the laughter was consuming him.

Sirius caught the mirror. He looked at it uneasily as he brought it up to his face. Or where his face should have been. Sirius' head had not fully returned, unless you count his new hot pink hair. He sighed, but gave a hearty laugh. "Trust you to mess my hair up, James."

Flitwick waddled over between the desks. He stood up on a chair and hit Sirius' head, lighter than James did much to Sirius' relief. Sirius looked back in the mirror; his head was back, but still with the mope of pinkness upon his head.

"I don't know how Mr. Potter managed to perform the Color-Change Charm, but oh well…" Flitwick squeaked. "I take it Mr. Black doesn't want his hair pink?" He smiled to Sirius.

"No, he definitely wants his hair to stay its new lovely shade of pink, Professor," James said, trying to keep a straight face.

"That's what I thought," Flitwick said. He swished his wand about Sirius' head, and the pink faded into its original velvety black color.

"Thanks," Sirius said sincerely. He had been worried; the last time his hair was discolored, the polka dots had lasted two weeks.

Sirius turned around towards James with a wicked grin on his face. "Your turn, Jamesie. _Disillusionous!_" His wand sharply hit James on the head.

The rest of the class had worse results of their charms than Sirius'. Mundungus managed to shrink Kyle's head before he put it right again. Sean Stebbins (a Ravenclaw boy), Lily Evans, Sirius Black, and Kyle McFly, in addition to James, were the only ones who successfully performed the Charm.

Flitwick was so impressed that he let the last few minutes be a free time. As everyone was packing up their things early, Sirius' attention shifted as soon as he her Hermione's name.

"So is this new girl, 'Ermione, your new target?" Mundungus asked Kyle.

Kyle just grinned slyly. "Now Dung, what would your dear Saumya think of you talking about girls like that?"

"Just listen to 'er talk about boys and see 'ow she cares," Mundungus replied huffily. He stuffed his book into his rather smelly bag. "Anyways, are you going to ask 'er to 'Ogsmeade?"

"I'm planning to," Kyle answered. Sirius stopped what he was doing to listen more carefully. "You think I should?"

Mundungus shrugged. "I'll tell ya now, she's very easy on the eyes, if you catch m' drift."

Kyle laughed. "Well anyone with eyes could see that…"

"But she's got a down side, mate. More of the studying type, that one."

A bell sounded off in the distance.

"Once I'm through with her, that'll be all different." Kyle wore a sly grin. "Especially by the end of our first Hogsmeade date… Find an empty classroom." They waited while everyone else filed out. Sirius and James waited also. "And you know she'll be tired from all that walking… I know the perfect solution that will get her off her feet and onto—AAH!"

Sirius had blasted Kyle fully out of the room so he hit the other side of the corridor. Sirius pushed aside James and stormed out of the classroom with his wand pointed straight at Kyle.

"Don't you—ever—talk about Hermione like that again!" Sirius yelled. James tried to calm down his friend. "Gerroff James!" He ripped his arm out of James' reach and stuck his wand in Kyle's petrified face.

"Sirius Black!"

Sirius whipped around at the sound of Hermione voice.

Hermione angrily pushed aside Mundungus and James. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Hm, that phrase sounds oddly familiar…" Sirius said. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Er, hexing Kyle?"

Hermione's eyes widened in anger, but also astonishment. "And why were you hexing Kyle?"

"He was talking trash about you!" Sirius yelled, throwing Kyle a venomous glare.

Hermione's eyes darted towards Kyle, who had an intensely guilty look about his face. "And how many times have _you_, Sirius Black, talked about other girls in the same way?"

"That's not the point," Sirius growled.

She walked up right in front of him. He lowered his wand arm. "Then what is the point?" Hermione asked.

Sirius opened his mouth, closed it, and watched Hermione turn her back on him to help Kyle stand. Sirius opened his mouth again and said in a plain voice, "He had said that after his trip to Hogsmeade with you that he'd—"

"What?" Hermione asked, but she was not looking at Sirius but at Kyle. "You wanted to ask me to Hogsmeade?" she asked in a quiet tone.

Harry had pushed through the crowd that had formed around the scene. He stopped dead at the sight of Hermione looking fondly at another guy.

Kyle nodded. "I was going to ask you after Charms. And since Charms has obviously ended… Hermione, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

Hermione looked of Kyle's shoulder at the shocked, wide-eyed Sirius and Harry. Sirius' mouth was slightly hanging open. Harry was shaking his head and mouthing the word "no." Hermione looked back at Kyle's face. He looked apprehensive and genuinely anxious. She smiled at his face.

"Sure, Kyle. I'd love to."

A/N: Just so you know, I don't even own Kyle McFly. One of my good friends made him up and drew him during English class. Oy…

Yeah yeah, I know James is _supposed _to be a Chaser. I just always thought he was a Seeker, since he was playing with that Snitch. But it's too late to change that part in my story now, isn't it? Anyways, it's more interesting to see Harry pass by as a Chaser.

**Mane Black**- your English is fine. I can understand it perfectly well!

Next Chapter: The Marauders get drunk! And the Hogsmeade trip…

Thank you so much for all your reviews! You don't know how much they all mean to me!!!


	9. Chapter 9: A New Light

**Chapter 9: A New Light**

Sirius had avoided most conversations that included Hermione that day.  Remus had heard about the incident in the hallway and steered clear of Hermione too.  Harry caught up with her that night while she was working tirelessly on her Ancient Runes homework.

"How's Ancient Runes?" he asked as he peered at the title of her book.  They were at the table in the far corner of the common room. Remus and James were playing a mean game of wizards chess. Sirius and Peter were mostly watching the chess game, but decided to build a castle out of Exploding Snap cards. Hermione had noticed the absence of friends at the moment, and was therefore not in the best of moods.

"In all of my time knowing you Harry, you have never asked me how my other classes were without a reason behind it."  She placed down her quill and folded her hands in a very business-like way.  "What do you want?"

Harry cursed inside his head.  His subtlety was out the window.  "What's up with Kyle?  Why do you like him?"

"You know this is the first time we've really talked since we had that fight," Hermione said, picking up her quill again and scribbling something on her roll of parchment.  "The real question should be, what's up with us?"  Harry looked confused by Hermione's question, so she continued.  "Are we just friends or—"

"Oh," Harry grunted.  "I dunno…"

"Because it seems as if we've drifted back to being friends, just friends," Hermione said slowly. 

"Yeah, yeah I _guess_," Harry agreed hesitantly.  He then thought about it and stood up, certainly feeling angered.  "At least one of us has got someone new in their life, even if it is all a mistake," he finished in an irate undertone. 

"Mistake? Mistake!" Hermione screeched.  A few curious heads turned to watch the heated argument. The Marauders stayed focused on their games. "Why is everyone calling him a mistake?"

"Oooo," a girl called Amanda Carrick squealed from the opposite side of the common room.  "Everyone, the next Hogsmeade trip is coming earlier this year.  It's in two weeks!"

Harry cast a fleeting glare towards Hermione.  For one moment he thought that she was about to apologize, but then Hermione's stubborn face kicked back into place.  Noticing that this was getting no where, he strode up to his dormitory without giving her another glance.

Hermione had to go through her third and fourth year all over again.  Her friends wouldn't talk to her, or at least the boys wouldn't.  She was "dating" a popular Quidditch player (Kyle: Hufflepuff Beater). Girls would shoot evil glares at her through the halls from holding his hand.  If not with Kyle, who hadn't done anything more than give her a few pecks on the cheek, she was found studying hard in the corner of the common room.  The only girls who would really talk to her were her roommates, but even Freya and Dana kept their distance. Though Saumya became closer to her, since they were both seeing Hufflepuffs. Lily thought it was a good thing that Hermione widened her circle of friends. But hardly any girls agreed with her. One girl even tripped her in passing through the corridors. And as Hermione's bad luck would have it, this lasted for two long weeks.

At long last, the day of the first Hogsmeade trip had arrived. Everyone's plans were the same, but James would not give up on asking Lily on a date.

"Come on, Evans," James pleaded as he ran down the stairs into the common room to catch up with a thoroughly irritated Lily.  "Just one date! Could it kill you to go out with me for a butterbeer?"

That was Lily's last straw; she huffed and spun around so that James almost collided into her.  She took a threatening step forward, which made James cower a few steps back.  She kept on advancing on him in pure rage.  "Let me tell you this for the last time, Potter," she spat.  James's back bumped into the wall behind him.  Lily had the towering affect going for her, even though she was slightly shorter than James. "You may have this fascinating crush on me, but I think of you only as a bullying little prat whose ego could take up this entire campus. I won't go with you to Hogsmeade as a date… Ever! Get it through your thick skull already! Ugh!" Lily whipped around so her hair flew in James's face before she stormed towards the portrait hole. 

James wasn't the only Marauder to be hurt by their crush's painful words.  Remus and Sirius caught up with Hermione right before Lily's rage.

Hermione wore a nice pair of comfy, yet tight-ish jeans and an autumn-colored sweater with her Gryffindor scarf hanging from her neck as she descended from her dormitory.  Remus walked up behind her at a fast speed, but was too busy reading a book in his hands to notice Hermione slowly climbing down the stairs in front of him.  He ended up slamming into her, causing her to stumble the last remaining steps into the common room. 

Hermione turned around to see Remus.  Before he could apologize, she said sarcastically (mostly), "Jeez Remus, I know you don't approve of Kyle, but there's no need to murder me."

"Er, sorry," Remus said timidly.  He rolled up the sleeve of his green, tattered sweater.  "I wasn't watching where I was going." He stuffed one hand in his pocket of his baggy khakis while snapping his book shut with the other hand.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked lightly, pleased that he hadn't walked away yet.

"Only to go shopping with James and Sirius," he said in a monotone manner.  "They need to go to Zonko's to replenish their stock."

"Oh, that's, er, nice."

"Hermione!" 

Sirius came bounding down the stairs, his hair slightly untidy. Apparently, he had shouted up the girls' dormitory stairs to see if she was up there. Once Freya lodged a pillow at his head, he decided to try downstairs.  As he caught sight of Hermione, he swept his hand through his hair to clear it up. It fell perfectly back into place.

That, if nothing else, amazed Hermione, how his hair did that.  When he was older, his hair wasn't the cleanest or well kept at all.  Back in Grimmauld Place, he didn't really bother cleaning up, because the only person he'd have to clean up for was Kreacher.  But in this time, Sirius' hair was… perfect. There was no other word for it.

"Hermione!" Sirius said again, this time in a singsong voice.  He waved his hand in front of her face.  She had been staring at the spot where he had entered.

"Hm, what?" Hermione said distractedly. 

Sirius straightened himself up a bit. 

"Why are you going out with Kyle?"

Remus smacked his own forehead.  "Sirius, have you ever heard of the words subtle approach?"

"Yeah, I have. Why do you ask? This is hardly the time mate," Sirius said.  Something in his tone made Remus think that he was serious. (A/N: eh heh)  Sirius turned expectantly to Hermione.

She stood there stunned. Two weeks of refusing to talk to her for more than five minutes and they choose twenty minutes before she had to leave for her date to ask about Kyle?  "He's nice, sweet, funny, doesn't get jealous if another guy looks at me."  At that last quality, she glared obviously at Remus and Sirius.  Remus adverted his eyes to his shoes in embarrassment while Sirius continued to stare at her, wincing inside from her words more and more by the second.  "He makes me happy.  And I thought you two, being that we're _friends_," she looked particularly at Remus, but flashed her eyes at Sirius, "would be happy for me."

"But why him?" Remus asked quietly.  His brown with yellow-flecked eyes bored into her sweet honey brown eyes. He took a deep breath in, as if preparing himself. "Why not us?"

Hermione stared at him in disbelief. How dare he ask such a question as that! "Why not you? WHY NOT YOU?!  Merlin, Lily was right when she said James and Sirius were narcissistic prats, but I didn't think you'd join them!  Can't you understand? I like you guys, yes."  Sirius's head snapped up.  "_As friends_.  I'm sorry, guys, but as I said to Sirius, I can't do this with you."  For sounding so angered, Hermione looked hurt rather poignant.  She turned around and headed for the door. 

Harry stopped her before she took half a dozen more steps.

"Where are you going?" he asked.  He didn't sound angry or upset, just… protective.

"Er, to Hogsmeade," Hermione said. 

"We need a permission slip…"

Hermione hit her head lightly in frustration.  She pulled out a slip from her pocket and handed it to Harry.  "Oh, I forgot Harry.  Dumbledore signed the forms for us. He thought since we had them signed in the future, we should be able to visit the village in the past."

Harry folded his arms over his chest.  "And when were you planning on telling me this?"

"I was a little preoccupied lately," Hermione defended uneasily.  "Also, he just gave it to me yesterday."

Harry looked at Hermione skeptically.  She must've passed the test, because he then said in a more cheerful tone, "All right. Excellent."

"So are you going to go?" she asked eagerly.

"Yeah, I guess… hang out with the Marauders maybe, or the team…" he added thoughtfully. 

"Great!" she said over enthusiastically.  "Well, maybe I'll see you there—"

She was cut off by Lily's screeching. "I won't go with you to Hogsmeade as a date… Ever! Get it through your thick skull already! Ugh!"

As Lily stormed their way, Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic glance before Lily dragged her through the portrait hole.

Harry strolled over to the sulky Marauders while whistling a jaunty tune with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.  Peter had come down to announce he had been turned down by yet another girl.  They all glared at Harry. He was acting way too cheerful at a time like this.

"Hello mates," Harry said happily.  "What's with all the sadness?"

"All of the Marauders _never_ go to Hogsmeade without dates," Remus said sadly.

"Except for James, who can never get a date with Lily," Sirius added. James punched Sirius in the shoulder.

"Shut it, mate," he grunted.  His face brightened instantly.  "Hey, I know something that'll cheer us up!"

"What?" Peter, Remus, and Sirius asked desperately.

"Some firewhisky," James said dreamily.  The rest brightened up too.  "Come on, let's go!"  They all started to speed towards the door, except for Harry.  "You coming, Thewler?" James called back.

Harry hesitated.  "Yeah, I guess." He joined them as they hopped through the hole.  "Someone has to get you back to the castle when you're all too drunk to remember the way back."

They all laughed heartily as they descended down the stairs.

Peter, James, Harry, Sirius, and Remus all stood next to each other in a line at the entrance of Hogsmeade. 

"Well mates," James said opening his arms as if to give the town a hug, "it's all ours."

They laughed and headed towards the back of the town where the Hog's Head was located.

"Wait." Harry halted and held out his arms to stop them in their tracks. 

"Aw, Thewler," Sirius whined. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now."

Harry rolled his eyes.  "Of course not.  I wouldn't leave you guys to get caught… It's just that when people get drunk, they are usually too drunk to go anywhere else afterwards, am I right?"

"You're speaking of this as if you've never gotten drunk before," mused Sirius. There was a state of shock hidden in his comment.

Harry didn't reply, but carried on with his original conversation. "And you need some stuff from Zonko's, don't you?"

"Get on with it!" squeaked Peter.

Harry shot a glare at Peter.  "Shouldn't we buy your supplies first, and then I can carry them back after you guys are still… intoxicated?"

They all stared at him for a second.

"Now you're speaking as if you aren't going to get drunk with us at all," Sirius said again, this time the shock was more prominent. 

James put his arm around Harry.  "This mate's got a point, doesn't he?" James said, speaking of Harry while ignoring Sirius's stupid comments.  Peter nodded his head vigorously. Remus agreed too with a nod. Sirius shrugged.

"Yeah… I guess Remus has some competition in the 'Reasonable and Smart' department," joked Sirius.  He ducked Remus's attempt to swat him over the head.

"Good thinking, Harry," James said.  He ruffled up Harry's hair unnecessarily.  "To Zonko's!" he shouted.

"To Zonko's!" they echoed.  All of them shot their fists up in the air as if about to charge. A few girls giggled on the side streets.  The boys ran ahead down the main street towards the joke shop.

The Marauders and Harry strode out of Zonko's thirty minutes later. Each carried at least one bag.

"Jeez, you guys shop like girls," Harry teased.  He had learned to duck a hit from someone when teasing, this time it was Sirius. "Oh, and Potter, you owe me twelve sickles."

"I wanted to save my money for the drinks!" James said defensively. "And trust me Harry, you don't want to pay for those…"

They started to aimlessly wander throughout the town for a total of ten minutes.  Harry noticed how many girls were always watching the Marauders, but Harry actually caught a few pretty-looking girls staring dreamily after him.

"I know this is a rather random question," Harry said slowly. They all turned towards him.

"Trust me, there is no such thing as a random question with Sirius around," James joked. Sirius's nearest hand was clutching a bag, so he just growled playfully.

"But how popular are you guys… with girls?" Harry asked timidly, finding the gravel pathway below his feet the most fascinating thing.

"Ah, you noticed our fan club, have you?" James asked. He ruffled his hair pointlessly; it was already windswept because of the light breeze blowing.

"You can have all of mine if you want," Remus said tiredly. "There are only two girls I'm interested in," he said quietly.

"Isn't it interesting that out of all girls we could have," James pondered aloud, "we fall for the ones who aren't madly in love with us?"

"Hey, you're right," Peter piped up.

"Oy!" Sirius yelled out happily.  "We're here!"

The old, tattered, not to mention tiny, inn stood at the very end of the main street.  Its sign of a hog's head swung forebodingly in the breeze.  Harry took a deep breath, and followed James into the grungy inn.

They walked up to the bar and Sirius rapped his knuckles on the counter.  The barman had been in the middle of "washing" the mugs.  He spotted the students and slid over.  He knew these kids would buy quite a lot if given the proper first drink.

"Hello boys," he grunted.  "What d'ya wants?"  He wasn't too particularly cheerful, but to Harry, he had definitely grown grumpier over the past (or is it future) decade.

"Four—" James held up his hand to the barman and turned around to Harry.  "Do you want a firewhisky?"

Harry thought for a moment.  "How, er… how many do you drink before you get… drunk?" he asked shyly.

"More than one, I can tell you that," Remus laughed.

Harry looked taken aback.  Remus didn't strike Harry as the drinking type. _But remember, they _are_ just teenagers…_ said a nagging voice.  "Yeah, just one for me."

"Atta boy," Sirius said, thumping Harry on the back.

James smiled and turned back to the barman. "Five firewhiskies please."

"One galleon and three sickles," the barman grunted again.

"I'll pay first round, guys," James offered as they all made to search their pockets for money. They pulled their hands out of their pockets again.

"I'll do second," Peter chimed in.

"Thirds," Remus grunted.

"Guess that makes me fourths, eh?" Sirius said, clapping his hands together.

"I really hope there aren't any fifths," Harry groaned.

James smiled but said nothing, just like the rest of the Marauders.  James slapped down some money on the counter and moments later the firewhiskies appeared in front of them. 

"Eh, you better leave this out," James said to the barman as he went to put the container away.  "We'll be needing this sooner than you think."

"Girl troubles, mates," Sirius announced to the entire room, which was only the barman, what looked like a hag, and themselves.

They picked up their slightly smoking drinks (Sirius swiped the bottle itself) and plopped down at a table in the corner by the grimy windows.

"To girls who don't like us," James said holding up his shot glass.

"Cheers," they chorused.  All five raised up their glasses, Harry very doubtfully looking at his glass. They _clink_ed as they brought them to the center of the table. The four Marauders just chucked it down their throats with out a second thought. Harry sighed heavily and then shot it down his throat as fast as possible.

Harry wondered if he should have tasted Muggle whisky first, since it would have been much milder, because firewhiskies stood up for their name. As the alcoholic liquid sped down his throat, he could feel an intense heat travel down… Actually, it felt as if a liquid fire was scratching his esophagus with sharp claws like a grindylow's.

Harry shook his head as if to rid the alcohol from him, but found out it hurt to do that. His head started to throb. He folded his arms on top of the table and laid his head down on them, burying his head so only a mat of black hair poked up from his sweatshirt. Harry didn't care if the other Marauders thought he was weak, in fact, he hoped that they never would bring him here again… How could one drink make him feel so out of it?

Sirius poked Harry on the shoulder.  He turned to the other Marauders. "This one's definitely new at the drinking thing," he commented to James.

James shot Sirius a quieting glare.  "Hey Thewler?" he asked softly.

A groan came from below the mop of blackness.

"You're okay, aren't you?" he asked worriedly.  "You're gonna make it, right?"

Harry lifted his head with all his might to look red-eyed at the Marauders.  "I feel… like I wanna… throw up…" Sirius pushed away from the table and Harry. "I said I feel, you dolt, not I am going to," Harry retorted moodily.  "I think I'll just stop right now," he said weakly again.  "You guys go ahead. I'll make sure nothing too bad happens." And with that last assurance, his head disappeared underneath his arms of his sweatshirt.

They went to pour four more glasses, but the barman rushed to their side.

"Another?" he asked.

"Tell ya what, mate," James said, his words slurred only the slightest bit, "why don't you just charge us for the whole bottle and we'll pay once we're done, hm?"

The barman thought it over.  "Fine. But don't get your hopes up on me forgetting." He started to hobble away, his left leg weak. "A good memory I have here in this noggin. Yep yep…"

The boys chuckled as the barman shuffled away.  He was still muttering to himself about his long memory and the time he remember the number of a Muggle credit card from one bloke with what looked like a raccoon on his head.

"Crazy ole' badger," Sirius muttered as he went to pour everyone (minus Harry) another drink.

A few minutes after their second shot, they were all shouting at the top of their lungs about all pranks they had pulled. A few profanities came up when they yelled about how their high jinks came to an unfortunate end.

One was about how James and Sirius transfigured Snape into a red and gold monkey. The tale ended with Sirius cussing out Lily for yelling at them and telling McGonagoll about the poop-flinging Snape running around school. The moment Sirius started to swear some more, James punched Sirius in the stomach, though the blow wasn't that hard; James had been aiming for Sirius's head. Sirius would have reacted if Remus hadn't splashed a glass of the alcohol in his face. Harry would have stopped all this way when the first swearword escaped from Sirius's lips, but Harry was too busy trying to calm down his intensely sore throat and throbbing head. He had to focus to keep his last meal in.

After their third round of Ogden's Old Firewhisky, the worn-out, flame-decorated bottle was on its last few drops. Harry's queasiness passed quickly and he got the full blast of how stupid inebriated people could act.

"Today'll go downnnn… in history!" Remus shouted to the pub, his arms flailing all around him.

"And _whyyy_, Mr. Moony, is that?" James slurred, peering at his empty glass drink.

"I was put into the same… the same…" Remus tried to snap his fingers as he searched for the right word, but only made a rubbing sound.

"Category?" suggested Harry dully. At first it was funny, but now seeing his father, godfather, old professor, and a worthless traitor get drunk together was rather unnerving.

Remus swung his arm around to indicate Harry's word was correct, but ended up poking Harry in the ear.

"Exxxactly!" Remus yelled triumphantly, as if he thought of the word himself. "I was put into the same _category_ as youuuu six!" He swung his arm around his head, ending up pointing at Sirius and Harry's heads.

Harry could have slammed his head hard on the table. He shifted Remus's hand to point at James; this was the fourth time someone had called Harry by his father's name (even James called Harry James once).

James and Sirius didn't even notice that they were being insulted.

"So James can't get this girl that he's had the hotsss for since fourth year," Peter said slowly, concentrating on speaking properly. "Sirius and Remus are crushing after the same girl. A girl, mind you, that _haaates_ them. And I've gotten dumped for the third time in a month." He sighed heavily. "No wonder we're drunk."

Everyone laughed.

"But why is liiittle Thewler here?" Sirius asked.

"Little Thelwer is here," Harry said slowly, pronouncing each word with a great effect, "because he is planning to save you arses when it comes close to our curfew."

"Oh."

"Thanks mate," James said, slapping Harry on the back but falling over at the same time. "We owe you." Since James was so close to Harry, the young Potter could smell his dad's alcohol breath. Harry pushed James off of him; the smell of the firewhiskey was choking him.

"Yes, you sure do," Harry said tiredly. He coughed; the smell of alcohol was more prominent, mixed with  the foul smell of stinking sweat.

"Sirius!" Remus said abruptly.

Sirius spun his head around so his hair hit his eye.

"Do you really think _you_ have a chance wittthhh Hermione?" Remus slurred.

"Yes," Sirius said at once. "I gotta… she's one helluva girl."

"I know what you mean," Remus agreed.

"But you know you'll _neeever_ get her," Sirius slurred defiantly.

"And whyyy not?"

"No matter how similar you two are, she just doesn't seem the type that settles for a male version of herself."

"Huh," Remus said.

"Just my point of view…"

Silence grew over them. James and Peter had made up a stupid game to keep them occupied. It consisted of keeping a strand of hair straight while blowing on it. Once James won (don't ask how), Peter giggled and laid his head on Sirius's shoulder. "You have pretty hair, you know that?"

Sirius looked down at Peter disdainfully and shrugged the pasty boy off. "You aaare weird, Wormtail," he said, stumbling through his words. "You are a very—Hey, dere's 'Mione," he slurred distractedly. He pounded on the grimy windows, moved his hand in slow but large circles, and wiped off the grime that had collected on Sirius's sleeve onto Peter's shoulder. All five students huddled around the only clear spot and peered out into the street.

And so she was. Though, Hermione didn't look at all too pleased as she sped-walked out of a darkly lit café. Both of her hands were balled up in tight fists, her knuckles glowing unnaturally white. Her partially tamed hair flew out behind her as she raced down the empty street of Hogsmeade.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Sirius drunkenly commented.

"Just shut up and watch," Harry hissed.

Seconds later, Kyle came running out of the same shop with his flaming-red hair slightly disheveled. He seemed to call something out to Hermione, perhaps her name. Further down the street, Hermione whipped around and shouted angrily at Kyle. Before he could react in any way to her final statement, she broke out into a run towards the gates, putting as much distance between her and Kyle.

The five boys turned back to their table. If they weren't confused before from the alcohol, they sure were confused from that short event.

"What was that about?" Harry wondered, knowing full well that he would get no semi-intelligent answer from any one of his peers. On cue, they all shrugged dumbly, but Remus and Sirius seemed a bit more in tuned than before. Perhaps it was the sight of Hermione that did the trick.

Harry stood up quickly. "I think it's about time we headed back," he ordered quickly, eager to see what happened to Hermione. "Let's get you guys up and running." This was more of a demand than anything.

"Good idea," Sirius exclaimed valiantly. He went to stand with Harry, swayed while holding his head, and plopped back down on the cushioned bench. "But wait 'til we can stand."

Ten minutes later, all four Marauders were standing wobbly-legged and un-crossed eyed. Harry had to stand each one up and hold them straight for about a minute. Peter kept falling over while giggling until Sirius kicked him in the shins. Peter found perfect balance while hopping on one foot while hugged his shin.

Next came walking.

Harry, Sirius, and Remus had to literally drag Peter all the way to the entrance doors. They had to lug James to the gates of Hogsmeade. He had shouted and whined, even tried to punch Sirius when they walked past the Quidditch store.

Forty minutes after they left the bar, they were jogging through the winged boar-guarded gates of Hogwarts.

When they finally reached the Entrance Hall, they parted their ways. James and Peter made off to the kitchens (both could fully walk now). As they have experienced before, the house-elves could conjure up a potion to relieve the drinker of hangovers. Harry, Remus, and Sirius sped up the plethora amount of stairs that stood between them and the Gryffindor common room.

Something had been bothering Harry for quite some time. And now since the Marauders were now sober (more sober than before), Harry decided to ask it: "Let me ask you guys this."

"Hm," Sirius and Remus said automatically. They slowed down their running speed to a slow jog up the stairs.

"How many times have you gotten drunk?"

Remus and Sirius both pondered this (the affects of the alcohol were still in motion). "This would be out third time," Sirius informed after counting with his fingers.

Harry didn't know to feel relieved or worried.

"The first time was… a mistake," Remus said slowly, not to mention uneasily.

"How was it—never mind. I don't want to know," Harry said quickly.

"It's better if you don't," Sirius said seriously. It involved a full moon approaching.

At long last, they reached the Fat Lady's portrait. She had been talking animatedly with her friend, Violet, about what another painting told her: gossiping.

"Patefactus," Remus breathed loudly. He was quite tired, as were Sirius and Harry.

The Fat Lady huffed, because they had just interrupted her conversation about what Armando Dippet had told her. She glared at the boys before reluctantly opening her portrait.

The three boys quickly thanked her and rushed in, looking wildly around for Hermione. Sirius and Remus whipped their heads around when they heard a very faint sniff from somewhere by the fireplace; transforming into dogs and werewolves once a month really improved the sight, hearing, and lurking about.

"Hermione?" Sirius whispered as he crept up behind her, as if not to scare her. He walked around the chair that had bushy, brown hair poking out of the sides. "Are you all right?" He inched closer to the front side of the chair.

Hermione hurriedly wiped away a rebellious tear as she heard the boys enter. She was expecting Harry to speak soothing words only a friend could give as he cuddled up next to her on the oversized chair. She was surprised when it was Sirius whom she saw first. Remus peeped out from behind him next. Harry was walking over with a look of concern. They bent down in front of Hermione's chair, awaiting her reply. To their amazement, she leapt forward to pull all of them into a bear-sized group hug.

"Oh, you guys were right about Kyle," she sobbed uncontrollably. "He was a mistake. Why I didn't see it before amazes me." She pulled back, wide-eyed. She had NOT meant to tell them all that. _There you go again Hermione, always being powerfully emotional…_

"Shh, it's okay Hermione," cooed Harry. "Everybody makes mistakes. And we were just saying that because we were… jealous, really."

"Yeah, it'll be okay Hermione," chimed Sirius. His face grew more serious. "What did Kyle do, though?"

All boys looked at her expectantly.

"He just… he just…" She looked somberly at Sirius. "Well let's just say the _trash talk_ you heard about me was probably more or less accurate of what he tried to do."

Their faces looked stricken.

"But don't go after him, please," Hermione begged as she saw a vengeful glint creeping into Sirius's pale yet captivating grey eyes. "Just leave him alone." She said the last part mostly to herself. Kyle had reminded her of Krum to some extent.

"All right," Remus said firmly. "We promise."

Silence.

"Where were you guys anyways?" Hermione asked, thankful to get away from her topic. "I didn't see you at Hogsmeade."

Harry looked uneasily at Sirius, then Remus. "Oh, you know… hanging around town."

Bad timing. It is a horrible thing that ruins some of the most perfect moments. In this case, it ruined a perfectly good lie.

"Oy, we got your Pep-Up for the Drunken Tonic!"  James and Peter had entered the common room loudly. Apparently, they had taken a tad too much Pep-Up. They waved the bottle happily as they ran sloppily over to Hermione's chair.

Her eyes flashed dangerously at the three boys kneeling in front of her. They now had guilty looks about their face. "Drinking? You were drinking?!" she screeched. "What were you thinking?"

"They weren't thinking at all, really," Harry explained in a tired tone.

"Hey, you had a drink, too!" Sirius said, trying to spread some of the blame away from himself.

"When will you guys learn?" Hermione muttered under her breath. James and Peter were trying to do some sort of dance, but tripped over each other and fell in a messy heap upon the common room floor. They didn't get up, but Remus heard a faint snoring from Peter.

"When you teach us," Sirius answered in the same quiet volume.

Only Hermione had heard him. She looked away from the massive pile that was James and Peter to give Sirius a look. When she met his eyes, she felt the heat rising from her neck into her cheeks uncontrollably. He held her eye contact for quite sometime, but was afraid that someone might notice something. But to their luck, Remus and Harry stood up grudgingly and gave a heavy sigh while carrying James and Peter up the stairs into their dormitory.

Hermione was taken away by how deep his eyes could go… almost into his soul. He had the big, puppy-dog eyes down to a pat. She stared into them more and more, trying to find something other than jokes, witty comments, food, and girls hidden in there. She was so close to finding it, but Sirius broke the eye contact.

He flashed his eye at the direction of the stairs for a half second. He returned to her honey-brow eyes with a comforting passion.

"Good night, Hermione," he whispered lovingly. He leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. He withdrew and stood up, now staring into her eyes again. "Sweet dreams." He retreated to the back stairs in a slow jog. Before he completely disappeared, he turned around and gave Hermione a wink. He ran up the rest of the stairs, taking three steps at a time until he arrived at his dormitory door.

Hermione was dazed at what had just happened. One moment, she was preparing herself to yell at the Marauders, not to mention Harry, for drinking, and then all of a sudden, she just stared at Sirius. Her best friend's godfather! And not the staring 'Oh, you have some dirt on your nose'. No, it was the 'I'm just staring at you because your so damn attractive'. What was she thinking? But what amazed Hermione is the ending of their little staring contest. Last time it had been a forceful kiss (but still sweet). This past time it wasn't lustful at all. It seemed he really cared about Hermione, as a person, not an object.

With glazed-over eyes, Hermione laid her hand on the cheek Sirius had kissed. She climbed out of her chair and slowly made her way to her dormitory. All her roommates were asleep by then. She dazedly pulled off her clothes, stepped into her pajamas, and hopped into bed.

She lay on her bed for what seemed like ages. All she could think about was Sirius. Not Kyle, who she was mad at. Not the Marauders as a whole, for drinking 'til their hearts content. No, her mind was focused on one boy. That had never happened before. It wasn't supposed to happen to Hermione! She was just a little bookworm, not girlfriend material. What did Sirius see in her? What did he expect from her?

But all Hermione knew for sure was that tonight, she had seen Sirius in a totally different light.

A/N: Woo hoo! One hundred reviews! You guys are all so great!

Thank you all for the information on the eye colour:

**Eman**, **Zenia**, **Anonymous**, **Katie**, **fanfictionworm**, **Lauren**, **Killer** **Angel**, **terrylove**, **nicc**, **fuzzfurry**, **madisonfairie**, **pennypie**, **Lady-Solitary**, **Padfootz-luvr**, **popppincorn**, **Hi** **Im** **Crazy**, **artemisgirl **(thanks for the website!), **gryphkin** (thanks!), and **lanna1186**! It was much appreciated!

As for the other reviews:

**Yumiko** **Kaze**- Don't worry, the mushy scenes will be more frequent and more detailed as the story continues! Thanks!

**Dawn1**- I'm glad you enjoy my story, but I'm sorry if I held anything up!

**Pieceocake**- I'm not running out of ideas! I love Lord of the Ring! I like to add that kind of stuff in my stories. It seems fun to me… Anyways, do you know how much stuff Rowling used from Lord of the Ring?

**Mio**- Thanks! I was worried that the characters in my story aren't close enough to the originals…

**Rena**- I was going for funny! Thanks!

**Doodle­Girl**- Ahh, the tap dancing cheese… I had a dream a week ago where there was a tap dancing contest between aardvarks and some cheddar cheese. So I entered part of my own dream into my story! And Kyle will show his better qualities soon (but Hermione won't fall for him again). Thanks!

**Jean jelly bean**- And your wishes of inspiration reached me to finish this chapter! Thanks!

**Captain Riley Sparrow**- Love the name. Thanks!

**Mane Black**- Hermione can be a bit stupid sometimes, as we all know. And Kyle will steer clear of 'Mione for awhile. He's not that stupid! Thanks!

**Tsk**** tsk**- Aren't you an observant one! wink Thanks!

**Rane2920072**- Girl power, it's one of the deadliest powers there is, and if Kyle has half a mind, he'll stay away from Hermione. 'Cuz we all know what happens when she gets pissed off at a guy cough Malfoy cough Thanks for reviewing!

**Lanna1186**- Good idea about Mione turning Sirius's hair green and silver… I might use that later on, but it won't be Hermione cursing him… Thanks for the great idea!

**Silver-Enchantress-Elf**- Thanks! You don't know how happy I am whenever someone says that!

**Artemisgirl-** I left you guessing on what Kyle actually did. But yes, he is a very bad boy. Thanks!

**Hi Im Crazy**- Thanks! I hope the drunken Marauders scene proved funny for you! And yeah, I like Mundungus too. He's just cool!

And my 100th reviewer is **Roxxie****-Hart**! Thanks!

And Callie, my friend who made up Kyle, I'm sorry! When you told me about him and showed me the picture, my original plan wasn't for him to be all mean, but it just fit in the story perfectly! I know your original purpose for him was to be this all-around nice Quidditch star!

Thanks for the reviews! I hope you review some more! wink wink


	10. Chapter 10: A Warning from Dumbledore

**Chapter 10: A Warning from Dumbledore**

Sirius woke up the next morning feeling happier than he could ever remember. Earlier than he could remember too. The sun was just peaking up over the horizon. The radiant sunbeams spread their warmth through the forbidden forest's trees and into Sirius's heart. _Today is going to be a great day_, Sirius thought cheerfully as he climbed out of bed and walked towards the window.

The sun slowly crept up on the window seat. He sat down on the velvety cushion, which turned out to be quite warm. The sun shone through his unbuttoned pajama shirt onto his bare chest, where the sun's beam uplifted him even more. He sat there, though he couldn't tell for how long. His mind was lost while thinking about Hermione, and how she acted last night. It pained him to see the hurt in her face from that bastard, Kyle. The Hufflepuff boy had always been Sirius's "competitor" in Hogwart's major heartthrob category, but they were good friends… until now. Sirius reminded himself to curse the idiot one of these days. But what puzzled Sirius is how Hermione, after yelling at the Marauders, just stared into his eyes for what seemed like forever. She wasn't supposed to like him, right? She 'couldn't do this with him,' so then why was she staring at him like he was all she cared about in the world?

And why was he so majorly attracted to her? Hermione wasn't exactly the prettiest girl in the school. She seemed like the book-type that never seemed interested in boys more than friends. But there was something hidden in her that Sirius was drawn to like a bug to the flame, something that made Hermione not pretty, but beautiful in Sirius's eyes. She was different than all other girls he had met. Hermione just seemed so confident, but also she… it was hard for Sirius to put into words. There was just something mysterious about her, and he was determined to find out what it was.

When it had become a more respectful hour, Sirius left his position on the window seat and bounded to over James's bed. Sirius took note of James's dream face. It was a grin of pure delight with a hidden smugness, as if he had been right about something all along. Sirius automatically knew what (more like who) his friend was dreaming of.

"Oh, James, you were right from the beginning," Sirius said in a high pitch voice, trying to mock Lily Evan's tone. "We were always meant to be together. Will you ever forgive me for yelling at you for all these years?"

James, still in la-la land, mumbled, "Of course, Lily."

All of a sudden, Sirius found himself being crabbed by the collar and was pulled closer to James's face, which was ready to give a passionate kiss.

Sirius cleared his throat and spoke in his own voice again. "Jeez, Prongs, I know I'm good looking but I'm looking for more of a girl-type figure."

James's eyes snapped open. He was grabbing Sirius's collar and pulling his friend closer. James had to think for a moment before it all seemed to click into place. He shoved his friend away angrily.

"Padfoot!" he snarled.

"Well, you might act more like a girl, but you just don't have the figure," Sirius finished with a bark of a laugh.

Remus slowly sat up in his bed and opened the curtains. "What are you laughing about at this hour?" he asked annoyed.

"Prongs was trying to snog me," Sirius said in a casual tone, skipping over to Peter's bed. He pulled back the curtains just a little.

"I was not!" James shouted angrily.

"I have some _cheese _for you, Wormtail," Sirius sang quietly in Peter's ear.

Peter screamed and shot straight up in his bed. "No cheese!" He looked wildly around, and spotted a smirking Sirius. "What's got you in such an annoyingly pleasant mood?" He pushed Sirius off his bed and grumpily tore the sheets off of him.

Sirius shrugged and strolled over to Harry's bed. _The boy is still muttering about that apartment of miseries. _Sirius's face grew mischievous once again. _We're just going to have to change that._

"Padfoot," Remus said warningly.

"Let him sleep!" James hissed.

Sirius just smiled even wider and went to stick his head through Harry's curtains, but someone had beaten him to it. Peeves had quietly zoomed into the room and sneaked behind Harry's bed. Once Sirius stuck his face in, Peeves chucked a Muggle water balloon filled with icy-cold water at Harry's face. The poltergeist flew out of the room in a blink of an eye.

Harry's head and shoulders were now completely soaked, not to mention he was awake. He blamed the first person he saw.

"Sirius!"

Sirius scrambled away from Harry's bed, afraid Harry was going to curse him. "I didn't do it! It was Peeves!"

Harry glared. "Peeves isn't even here," he said exasperatedly. He wiped his brow, which was heavy with all that water.

Sirius eyes widened as he looked around Harry's bed. "He was there a second ago!" He turned around to James, Remus, and Peter. "You guys saw him. He floated in here with that balloon!"

Through his snickering, James managed to say, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, we never saw Peeves this morning," Peter added.

This, of course, was far from the truth. All of the Marauders had seen Peeves zoom out of the room cackling only like he could. But seeing Sirius get his comeuppance was a perfect way to start the morning.

"What—that's not—I don't know why I even bother," Sirius sighed. "I'm always the one who gets blamed for everything!" He threw up his hands exasperatedly.

"You get blamed for _everything_, huh?"

"James, I was joking when I said you were girly. That girl-ish voice just doesn't suit you."

"Oy, you dolt," James said through another hearty laugh. "That was 'Mione talking."

"Huh?" Sirius twirled around to the entrance door to their room.

Hermione was leaning in the door frame of their room. Her eyes had first laid on James, Remus, and Peter, who were snickering like mad. Then Harry, who for some odd reason was soaking wet. She finally set her eyes on Sirius. He seemed only slightly angered, but as soon as their eyes met, his face brightened immensely. His good-natured smile took a hint of his old arrogant smirk when he noticed Hermione's eyes dropping from his face to his bare chest for a few moments.

She blushed and looked at the rest of them again. "Good morning boys," she said cheerily.

"Wish we could say the same," Peter said gruffly.

"Padfoot decided to play alarm clock for everyone this morning," James added in the same tone.

"Hey, you trying to snog me isn't an alarm clock," Sirius said, "it's you being so wrapped up in a dream that you can't even realize that as beautiful as I am, I'm just not Lil—"

"So, Hermione," James interrupted quickly. She giggled.  "What brings you to our lovely home?" He cast Sirius a deathly look.

"Two things." She looked at Sirius (while telling herself not to blush). "While in the process of waking up your roommates, you managed to wake up mine. As a direct quote from the prefect herself, Lily says 'If those boys don't shut their arses right now, I'll give them all a hex that even Snivellus would be proud of,' though I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

James beamed. Of course he had to fall for the one who could give some of the best insults. It touched his heart.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" Sirius asked worriedly.

Hermione smiled. "No, Black. So being the one that was fully awake already, I was given the joyful duty of telling you all to keep it down. Anyways," she looked at Sirius again, "I was up way before you."

"At the crack of dawn?"

"Yes," she said slowly.

"Then you should have come in here!" Sirius exclaimed excitedly. "I was up too. And then we both could have wakened everybody up!"

Hermione would have loved to just sneak into his room and stare into those captivating grey eyes, but as she resolved this morning, no one, especially Harry, could find out what she was thinking… about Sirius. A major part of her brain was telling herself it wasn't real. Why couldn't she ever listen to that voice? "Tempting, but I had some homework to do," she lied, managing a sarcastic tone. She had been thinking deeply about Sirius and the time-traveling all morning. Why?

"Other than congratulating myself on waking up the entire 6th year Gryffindors, what else was there?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, just a message for Harry." Hermione turned to the sodden Harry. "First, why are you wet?"

Harry answered annoyed, "Sirius," when Sirius quickly said, "Peeves."

Hermione surveyed them skeptically. It was hard to pick which story she believed. She decided to stay neutral. "Right, anyway Dumbledore wants us to stop by his office for a quick chat before our classes today."

"All right," Harry said with a nod. "About anything in particular?"

"He didn't say."

"Right," said Harry. "Should we go now or after breakfast?"

"Since we are all awake so early," she glanced at Sirius, he shifted his weight, "we can see him after breakfast."

"All right," Harry agreed with a nod.

"If you wait for us at the bottom of the stairs in a few moments, we'll go down to breakfast with you," Sirius suggested with a smile.

"Make it a half an hour. I'll try to get the others up and ready before heading down." Hermione looked at James when she said the last part. James acted as though nothing was different how she said it, or what she was hinting to.

"Great," Sirius said with a clap of his hands.

Without another word, Hermione spun around and hurried out of their room. But not before Sirius took advantage of her eye contact and gave her a discreet wink, causing her cheeks to change rosy pink. No one else saw this but the two of them.

"Hey Harry," Remus started as he bent down to make his bed, "I noticed you were acting differently to Hermione last night." He paused as he neatly pulled up the rich red covers of his bed. "Why?"

"We just found ourselves better as friends," Harry said slowly, picking his words carefully.

Sirius, who was splashing some cold water on his face to freshen him up a bit more, spun around at Harry explanation. The water from Sirius's face flew off, spraying James in the face.

"I thought we told you to stop doing that _last_ year," James growled. He grabbed the towel from Sirius's hands and dried off his face. He next muttered something along the lines of _stupid dogs_.

"Er—sorry Prongs," Sirius said meekly but with a smile all the same. It was like the grin was plastered on his face, not that he wanted it off. He was rather enjoying this always-happy feeling. There were only a few incidences that made him feel that way: finding new passageways with the Marauders while exploring after curfew, prowling around at night in his Animagus form (with the others, of course), and when he first kissed Bridget Bell…  His heart sank. If he succeed at wooing Hermione (and he did plan to), he would be cheating on his girlfriend. And as one of the Marauder's Codes of Conduct, you can _never_ cheat on a girl, no matter the circumstance.

"Something wrong, Padfoot?" Remus asked lightly as Harry, James, and Peter regained enough energy to have a pillow fight.

Sirius apparently had been staring at the towel in his hands with a faraway look about his eyes. His head snapped up at the sound of his nickname. "Wha—oh, no. Just… thinking," he said in a faraway tone to match his eyes.

A little less than half an hour, the Marauders raced loudly down the stairs (James won) to find the common room empty. They walked towards the center to have a good look around. No girls.

"Either they're still in their dormitory," mused James aloud, "or they left without us." His tone had immediately switched to sorrowful.

"Now, Mr. Potter. Do you accuse me of not keeping my word?"

Hermione was on the last step leading into the room. She had a brilliant smile, one she had passed on to her roommates, who were cheerfully walking down the stairs behind her.

"Shall we then?" James asked smoothly. He held out his arm for Lily.

Lily sighed. "Don't ruin my good mood, Potter," she grumbled. She brushed past him but couldn't help smiling.

For being so early in the morning, there were quite a few people there. Many seventh years were already half-way through eating their eggs and bacon: Frank Longbottom, Alice Toby, Bridget Bell, Spencer Spinnet, and Zach Wood were all seated in the middle of the Gryffindor section. The Marauders sat right by them, as did the girls.

James dove into a conversation with his fellow Quidditch players, talking how they are going to wipe every last smirk off of any Slytherins face next weekend. Lily, Dana, and Freya were talking with Frank and Alice about their N.E.W.T.s. Sirius made it a point to not sit near Bridget, but sat by Remus. Across from them were Saumya and Hermione.

"I'm sorry about waking you up, Saum," Sirius said in a sincere tone.

Remus guffawed. "You apologize for waking them up, while you pretended to snog one of us, sang in our ears, laughed obnoxiously loud, and threw water balloons at us? You haven't apologized for waking us up!"

Saumya and Hermione snickered.

"One, I didn't throw the bloody balloon at Harry, it was Peeves! And two," Sirius explained slowly, "I had meant to wake all of you up; I didn't mean to awake the girls. So therefore I have something to feel sorry about." He turned back to the two girls. "You two understand, right?"

"He has got a point, Lupin," Saumya said through her laughter. They all looked at her; she never sided with Sirius. Actually, Saumya and Sirius usually entered insulting mini-battles while passing each other in the corridor. "However," she continued, "it is Black logic, so we know how accurate that is."

It was Remus's turn to laugh. "Too true," he said mockingly sad.

Sirius glared at them, but had noticed Hermione hadn't said a word, but had looked at him the whole time.

"And what do you think, Mione?" he asked suavely. "Do you think I make any sense at all?"

Hermione snapped her eyes back to his face. "Oh, no. Don't drag me into this. I just got used to you two talking to me again." She hurriedly gulped down her orange juice and reached for the scrambled eggs.

Sirius glanced at her skeptically but didn't say anything.

Remus whipped up another round of talking about classes.

"So Mione." He finished chewing his toast. "What do you think of Professor Smirch so far?"

Hermione gave a heartless laugh. "She's just like my old Potions Master. Now he was the worst teacher I have ever met."

Sirius belched, but pardoned himself as Hermione rolled her eyes in unison with Saumya and Remus. "What was he like exactly?" Sirius asked.

Hermione glanced at the Slytherin table, where Snape had just started to eat. She looked at her friends again with a little smirk. "He was the world biggest git," she spat. Remus and Sirius were taken aback at how angrily she had said that. "He only favored the Sly—a special group of kids. And he _loathed_ Harry just because his parents didn't exactly get along with the professor. And he acts just as coldly as Smirch does." She let out a long, drawled breath.

"Way to let it all out, Hermione," Saumya said sarcastically. "You just don't want to bottle up that anger."

"Well, what Prongs and I have planned for potions today, the lesson should be… more interesting," Sirius said mysteriously with a mad glint in his eyes.

"What are you—actually, I don't even want to know," Remus muttered.

"Better not, prefect," Sirius said, happily chewing on his bacon.

Remus glared at him. "You guys don't make my job any easier, you know that right?"

"Hey," Sirius said, feeling insulted, "we don't aim for you, we just aim for the people who follow school rules too strictly." He snickered.

"And let me guess," Hermione drawled, "school rules are meant to be broken, aren't they?"

"Exactly." Sirius's face wasn't joking. "See Moony, she understands."

"I think she was joking, Padfoot," Remus said warily.

Sirius looked at Hermione strictly. "You can't tell me that you've never broken the rules before."

Hermione thought about it: stealing from a teacher, magic in the corridors a numerous amount of times, the sorcerer's stone trip, time-traveling without educational purposes, helping Harry with the Triwizard tournament, starting an illegal defense group, and so much more. "Maybe once or twice," she answered meekly, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Uh huh, and I kissed McGonagoll twice," Sirius said sarcastically. "Everyone has to break rules. It's an unspoken rule!"

"So they could break that rule and never break any other rules," Remus said matter-of-fact. "If they didn't break any other rules besides the 'unspoken rule', then they're all set!"

Sirius sighed. "But those are just the sissy people who have no life other than schoolwork," Sirius said impatiently.

Hermione gave a slight "humph" but said no more during breakfast.

"Hey Hermione," Harry called out a few seats down.

"Oh right!" Hermione suddenly remembered their meeting with Dumbledore. "We should be going now." She checked her bag to see if she had everything. "See you all at Potions," she said to the 6th years. She turned and walked away with Harry.

Once they exited the hall, Sirius muttered something to Remus and hurried after them.

Harry and Hermione were guessing at what Dumbledore wanted to talk to them about when they rounded a sharp corner. Something hard slammed into both Gryffindors. It turned out to be two someones.

"Watch where you're going, Potter," Regulus Black spat as he shot up off the floor. He dusted himself off before helping the other Slytherin up. She was short, tiny fifth year but looked as if she could knock anyone out who pissed her off if needed. The young Black looked into Harry's green eyes. His icy blue eyes flickered up to Harry's scar. "Oh sorry," he said sarcastically, "watch where you're going, Thewler."

Harry knew exactly who he was by the perfect black hair. "Why don't you, Black?" Harry growled.

Regulus turned to the Slytherin girl standing next to him. "Ooo, Thewler's got a bad mouth. I think, Callie that we might just have to take five points away from Gryffindor for that."

Harry just noticed the prefect badges on their robes. "Prefects, huh? Wow, there mustn't be any good Slytherins this year if you two were picked."

Regulus growled (just like Sirius) and made to tackle Harry, but Callie grabbed his cloak to hold him back.

"That's right, Snyde, you wouldn't want to get those _precious _badges taken away. It's really the only thing you're good for," Harry snarled. With that, he grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her down the corner and away from the stunned Slytherins.

"What was all that about, Harry?" Hermione asked snappishly.

"Didn't you know? That was Sirius's brother, Regulus Black: future Death Eater," he hissed.

Hermione gasped. "Was he at… the department—"

"No," Harry said quickly. He looked up and down the corridor. "While cleaning out headquarters, Sirius told me about his brother. Regulus died the same year I was born."

"Oh," was all Hermione could say. "We should hurry. As we know full well, the headmaster's office isn't too short from here."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go." They jogged down the hall and slowly ran up the stairs.

As soon as they disappeared, Sirius popped out from behind a statue of Uric the Oddball. He had been waiting there to scare Harry and Hermione, but decided to listen once he heard his brother's name mentioned. Sirius's face was probably at its finest confused moment in his entire life.

"What in the name of Merlin was that all about?"

???

Harry and Hermione stood outside Dumbledore's office for twelve minutes naming any kind of candy they could think of as the password.

"Just let us in!" Harry shouted exasperatedly. He kicked the gargoyle that stood in their way. He regretted it, as he always did, because his toes started to throb painfully.

"Come on Harry, name a few more candies. It's bound to open up soon," she said hopefully.

"All right, er… Fizzing Whizbees, Jelly Slugs, Cockroach Clusters, Droobles Best Blowing Gum."

"You already said that one," Hermione whispered.

Harry glared at her. "Er, Ice Mice, Pepper Imps—"

The guarding gargoyle jumped aside and opened up the wall leading to Dumbledore's office.

"Pepper Imps," Harry muttered while shaking his head. "I'll never understand Dumbledore."

They trekked up to the first stair and waited for the staircase to stop spinning. They walked through the doors to find Dumbledore sitting peacefully at his desk.

"Harry, Hermione, good morning," he said cheerfully. "Have a chair." He pointed his hand to the two Victorian style chairs in front of his desk. They hurried over to them and sat down, anxiously waiting to hear what the headmaster had to say.

"You're probably wondering why you are both here," he said placidly. Harry and Hermione nodded. He smiled and continued. "You're not in trouble, but I felt as if I should ask you how things are fairing in this time for both of you."

Harry answered first. "It's going great! I actually think I'm having more fun in this time than the future." And it was true. No one here knew about his triumph over Voldemort; the only reason anyone had to hate Harry was either his relationship with the Marauders or Harry's attitude, which was fine by him. It was getting old, all the whispering around the corridors, people pointing and goggling at him, and people always asking to see his scar.

"Ah, that's another thing I wanted to talk to you about," Dumbledore interrupted. "While you are here, you cannot, I repeat, cannot become attached to anything or anyone. And try not to get, er, _involved_ with people you will meet in the future. I'm not only saying this as the rules of time-traveling, but also I want to make things easier for you and your peers when you depart from this year." He crystal-blue eyes gazed deeply at both teenagers.

"Now, are you having any troubles? Anything on your minds?" he asked in a less serious tone.

It was silent before a moment before Harry said in a small voice, "Er, professor. My friends here have asked about my parents. What should I tell them? I know nothing of the Thewlers."

"Good question, Harry," Dumbledore said with a wink. "The Thewlers are good folk. They have a son, yes, but he works in Wales inventing new broomsticks. The parents are both alive and work at the Ministry of Magic in the Wizengamot. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?"

They both shook their heads quickly.

His sharp eyes pierced their own eyes, as though he knew something was hidden inside them. He must have seemed satisfied because he then excused them. "All right, off you go to class. And don't forget my warning," he cautioned as they made their way to his door. "Saying the slightest thing will certainly disrupt the entire timeline. Good luck."

A/N: Hey, I AM SO SORRY for not updating for so long. I was at a sleep away camp for a week, so I found it hard to write during that time. This chapter and the next were originally one, hence why it took so long. But as soon as "chapter 10" became twenty-two pages and not even half-way done, I decided to split them up.  The next chapter will arrive quicker than all the rest, don't worry! (Actually, it's already more than half-way done!)

And all my reviewers!

Thanks all of you! **Mangoes2oo5**, **dawn1**, **gamergal20**, **nexiumchick**, **Kawaiililkitten**, **soyamonkey**, and **puss in boots 119**!

**Artemisgirl**- Something bad will happen to Kyle, but they won't be seeking revenge. The Marauders are above that (they don't sink to Snape's level). Yeah, actually, I never really pictured Harry and Hermione together in the books. I always believed it will be her and Ron, but it fit better like this in the story… Thanks!

**Hi Im Crazy**- yeah, most people can't picture Remus getting drunk, but it was just so much fun to write him like that! Thanks!

**Pieceocake**- Duh I'm open to showing I favor Sirius… THE BLOODY STORY IS ABOUT HIM! And see, I think you only read those humorous stories of him, and not any romantic ones because a lot of people juice him up… And there's no way J. K. Rowling would make him love Care Bears! (though it IS very funny) Thanks!!!

**Doodler-Girl**- I just loved writing about Remus getting drunk. He's totally out of character, but yet he still is in character, if that makes any sense. And yes, I am completely crazy. I actually had a dream about slugs and turtle wax and chicken…

**Mane Black**- And I loved writing the drunken scene (I had to watch all these drunken movies to finally get it down (PIRATES!!!)) Yeah, Kyle is a jerk, but he won't be appearing too much in this story anymore. And the last line of chapter 10 I just loved. It has been playing around in my head since the beginning. I'm glad you loved it. Next chapter (11) will have some of Sirius's charm, don't worry! Thanks!!

**jean**** jelly bean**- I wanted to know the eye colors just to add a bit more detail in my story. Eye colors are a big thing for me. The inspiration came! Thanks!

**Blondekat3**- There will be mushy scenes, like "staring contests" but the real mushy scenes will be coming around the time of Halloween (which will be soon). These few chapters are the build-up to that time! Thanks!

**Dancerchick314**- Kyle… what he did… Interesting question. I'm really not exactly sure what he did, just something that made Hermione VERY uncomfortable. Something not appropriate for little kids to read, if that helps at all. It could have been a dare… Thanks!

**Eman**- Oh my gawd, you rock! You really think my story is that good? hugs you Ah this is so cool! My story makes others feel happy. Thanks soooo much!!!

**The 100 original BLAH**- Interesting name, very cool. And yes, usually the slimy people go into Slytherin, but remember, everyone has a bad side. And Kyle was acting on a dare so he couldn't back down…

Please review. I don't care if it's flames or you're gushing about my brilliant plots. I need reviews!!! Thanks!


	11. Chapter 11: Caught Staring

A/N: Hey hey! Look at me! I'm on fire! Another update in less than three days! Woo hoo!!

Alas, I don't own anything (it's been awhile since I wrote one of these). But that doesn't mean I don't' wish for, let's say, a group of mischievous boys in the 70's. I'd take any Marauder, really. Even Peter… so I could torture him to death…… So that's what my therapist was talking about when he mentioned my uncontrollable anger… Just kidding! Anyways… clears throat On with the show!!

**Chapter 11: Caught Staring**

Harry and Hermione didn't talk much after their meeting. They were already five minutes late to class without having to race down the stairs leading to the dungeons. They burst through the old potion classroom door to find Professor Smirch already lecturing them about how stupid they all really were.

"And here come some perfect examples," she sneered in a fake cheerful voice.

Harry and Hermione could practically hear Draco Malfoy snickering in the back of the classroom.

Professor Smirch's fake smile instantly disappeared. "Take your seats," she snapped.

Harry and Hermione scrambled for seats in the back. Harry sat next to Sirius where Hermione was forced to sit next Snape; it was the only open seat. He didn't seem too thrilled either.

"This is simple enough potion for your very simple minds. Let's see if you can master it. No need to work in pairs. Just follow the instructions on the board." Without even a wave of her wand, words started to scribble themselves onto the blackboard behind her in perfectly neat handwriting.

Hermione noticed a longing sigh from her left: Snape. She had to hold in a giggle. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that Snape fancied the young Potions teacher.

Snape and Hermione both worked hard on their potion for the rest of the class. More than a few times, Sirius (sitting behind Hermione) tapped her on the back to borrow some ingredients or ask if it was the right color yet. Harry eyed them skeptically but said nothing.

"All right, why is yours teal and mine pink?" Sirius whispered for the fourth time.

Hermione turned around but before she could say anything, Snape muttered in an annoyed undertone, "It's because you're a pink-loving dolt, that's why."

Sirius's eyes flashed angrily at Snape. "Do you want to say something, Snivellus?"

"I believe I just did," Snape replied coldly.

"Just ignore him," Hermione whispered to Sirius.

"That's right, hold your boyfriend back before he gets into trouble, Mudblood," Snape spat.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Another Malfoy in the form of her least favorite teacher, just what she needed.

Sirius's hand snapped to his wand and pointed it at Snape discreetly so Professor Smirch could see from her desk. "Take it back Snape," he barely whispered.

Harry heard and saw this and grabbed Sirius's wand arm away from Snape, dragging Sirius back into his chair. "Déja vu much?" he asked Hermione. How many times had he done that exact thing to Ron? Harry then turned to Snape. "How did you know Hermione was a Muggle-Born?" he asked in what he hoped was enough of a civilized tone for Snape to take him seriously.

"I just knew," Snape spat. "She reeks of it."

Harry struggled even more to hold back the raging Sirius.

"Oh Severus," Hermione said sweetly. "You wouldn't want your beloved Professor Smirch to see you not focusing during class, would you? She might think of you as a regular student instead of…"

Sirius forgot his anger for the moment. "You dig the potions teacher?" he asked loudly enough for people around to hear him. James, sitting across the aisle from Sirius, heard this and burst into howls of laughter, joined in by Sirius and a few other boys and girls.

Snape hurriedly looked around to see if Professor Smirch had heard Sirius's shout. Luck was on his side: she was too busy taunting Peter to hear. But she did hear the ringing laughter.

"What is so funny Mr. Potter?"

James was in tears. He could hardly breathe, but he did hear the professor. He glanced at Snape; he had fear in his eyes. There was no way James wouldn't take advantage of Snape's secret. But before James spilled the beans, he caught Lily's eye. She was giving him a warning glare.

James took a few gulps of air to calm himself down. He wiped away a tear of joy. "Oh nothing, _Professor_," he said happily. He could feel all eyes on him.

Hermione saw out of the corner of her eyes that Sirius was about to open his mouth. She kicked backwards and hit Sirius on the shin, hard. Sirius let out a whimper of pain. Professor Smirch's eyes snapped to him.

"Like to comment, Black?" Her eyes were flashing dangerously, not unlike Professor McGonagall's would.

"Oh," Sirius said through a strained voice. He could feel the bruise starting to form. "I just told Prongs this joke. See, it starts out when a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun all walk into the bar…"

"That's enough, Mr. Black. I don't need to hear any of you're lame jokes." She peered into his cauldron and her evil sneer became more pronounced. Snape would have joined in with the smirking, but he was too afraid James or Sirius might say something. "You'd better hurry if you want full marks on your potion. Ten minutes, class," she said louder. Smirch trurned quickly around and walked back to her desk.

"Well aren't you two pathetic," Snape whispered to James and Sirius. "We all knew James was hopelessly, might I pronounce the hopeless part, in love with Evans, but I never expected you, Black, to bend to the will of a girl, a Mudblood no less." Knowing that they wouldn't/couldn't curse him, Snape turned around completley satisfied with himself.

Before James or Sirius could react, Hermione spat out some of that anger Saumya told her not to bottle up. "You're pathetic. They just saved your arse and you still act like a jerk. Merlin, they were right when they called you a greasy-haired, stuck-up, snot-nosed little prat." With that, she turned around to help Sirius with his potion. Snape never said another word during class but focused on his potion with hands shaking out of pure ire.

"Hermione!" James, Sirius, and Harry whispered in complete awe.

Hermione couldn't hold in her blush. "We'd better hurry, Sirius, if you want to pass. And you too Harry. Now, I'd suggest you both add a pinch of crushed up dung beetles. That should change it to more of a red color."

She continued to help them the rest of class so that when they turned their flasks in, Professor Smirch had nothing bad to say about them. Hermione found herself more than a few times staring at Sirius, without anyone noticing of course. The two boys were too busy trying to not fail the class. When her mind started to wander from his angelic face onto his well-toned body, she scolded herself and brought her focus back to her potion. Professor Smirch glared at them (mainly Sirius) as they passed her desk and climbed the stairs to leave.

"Thanks Mione for helping us out, "Sirius said sincerely as they breathed the fresh air again.

"Yeah, I don't fancy failing Potions here too," Harry laughed.

Sirius looked at both Hermione and Harry, but said nothing. Those two's earlier conversation about Regulus left Sirius very confused. He was going to get to the bottom of whatever there was.

"Sirius, it seemed as Professor Smirch had something personally against you," Hermione said slowly.

"Oh, that… her family is a good friend of my mum," Sirius said edgily. "They're both big Dark Magic supporters."

"Transfiguration next, right?" Harry asked after Sirius was done explaining.

"Yep," Hermione said with a nod. A thought struck her mind; she turned sharply at Sirius, ready to ask him something.

He read her mind, raised his eyebrows and grunted, "Hm?"

"Weren't you and James planning to disrupt the potions class?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Of course, but with the whole Snape and Professor Smirch event, we decided to save it for another day," he explained simply.

"What was it, your plan, I mean," Harry asked.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough," James said mysteriously as he ran up behind them.

"This can't be good," Remus said as he trotted along with Peter.

"Since when have our plans ever turned out to be good for prefects and Slytherins?" Sirius asked.

"Was that rhetorical?" Remus asked.

"Yes."

"Oh."

"I can't wait to see it," Peter said excitedly.

"You would," James muttered so only Sirius could hear him. They both snickering unnoticeably.

After walking through another corridor to make it to the Transfiguration room on time, Remus asked how Harry and Hermione's visit to Dumbledore's was.

"It was fine," Harry said with a half-hearted shrug.

"What did he want?" Sirius asked very curiously.

"Just to see how we were doing at this school," Hermione said nonchalantly. Sirius raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "No really. He asked how classes were going, seeing if we enjoyed it here. There are so many differences between Hogwarts and Durmstrang."

"Name a major one," Sirius demanded.

Hermione had anticipated this. "There are no Houses in Durmstrang. The entire school isn't separated into four separate groups from the moment they arrive."

Harry looked at her. His first thought was _How does she know this?_ but then he thought of Krum and the fact that Hermione knew of the other foreign schools before the Triwizard Tournament.

"Really?" James asked, too astounded. He couldn't imagine being in the same category as Snape. It was just to mind-boggling for him at the moment.

"Yep," Hermione said confidently.

"Er, shouldn't we be hurrying to class soon?" Harry asked.

"We're already late," Sirius said with a wave of his hand. "What could a few more minutes do to us?"

"Let's think, put us into detention?" Remus said sardonically.

"From my experience, the detentions this year haven't been so bad," Sirius said, giving Hermione a playful nudge. She rolled her eyes but couldn't stop a little grin.

"I agree with Thewler," James said, ignoring Sirius's flirting tactics. "We should hurry up."

"Right-o."

They continued to walk down the empty corridor, this time at a slightly faster pace. Sirius made sure that every time they passed a filled classroom, he would stomp his feet deafeningly loud. But they had no time to question his inane antics; they were already four minutes late… to McGonagall's class.

They burst through the door forty seconds later, expecting to see her in the middle of teaching. To their surprise, the entire class was facing the door staring at the latecomers avidly and Professor McGonagall with her arms crossed over her chest was acting as if she was waiting for something.

Sirius opened his mouth to recite an off-the-top-of-my-head excuse, but was rudely interrupted by McGonagall.

"I don't want to hear any of you foolhardy excuses. Just sit down." Not one out of the late six students said a word as they scrambled for their places in the back of the classroom. Professor McGonagall said in an undertone to a boy near the front, "And Mr. Stebbins, you owe me three sickles; it was Mr. Black, not Potter, who tried to give an excuse. This should teach you not to bet anymore."

She cleared her throat rather obviously. "The section you're going to be learning about will take quite some time" (the class groaned) "because it is very difficult magic: human transfiguration." Professor McGonagall let out a heavy sigh as the class let out various whoops of cheers, particularly the Marauders. Every year the class' reaction to human transfiguration was the same, and it was starting to get on McGonagall's nerves. "Yes yes," she said curtly, "but there's no need to shout." They all stopped.

McGonagall flicked her wand over her shoulder so it pointed at the blackboard. "Copy all of this down. We might not get to actual spell performing until a day or two from now _at the least_."

After a few minutes of scribbling down the relative notes on the board, McGonagall started to give them a short lecture about the dangers and risks that were involved with human transfigurations. At the mention of the word 'risks' James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius all exchanged glances. James and Sirius smirked.

Everyone took notes while she told them spells and incantations; everyone minus two Marauders that is.

Remus, being the smart one of the lot, had to pay attention incase James or Sirius forgot a minor detail that could stop them from permanently changing themselves.

Peter wasn't too bright when it came to school work, so he unfortunately had to focus too, though from time to time he would watch what James was doing.

James was "the Transfiguration Master" as he put it and he had already learned how to transfigure himself into a completely different animal (without using his Animagus powers). So he spent the class time occasionally listening, yes, but also bewitching Remus's quill to zip out of his hand and duel James's own quill in midair.

Sirius took this time to think about one of his best subjects: girls. He could dump Bridget and go after Hermione… but what if she turned him down completely? Then Sirius would be left with no girls and a bad reputation. And that wasn't his main goal in life at all… He must have been staring at Hermione across the aisle while he was in his profundity, because he suddenly found Hermione looking back at him. As his eyes seemed to focus on her sweet face, she seemed to still be in deep thought.

Inside Hermione's mind, she was still listening to McGonagall's every word, but she also took the time to really think about this time-traveling… and about Sirius. She couldn't get him out of her mind! He was always there; his sweet grey eyes, his silky black hair, his bark-like laugh, his fit body… She didn't even think of Harry or Ron or Krum that much!

_That's because you like him_, a part of her mind taunted.

_But I can't like him_, another voice said urgently. _He's my friend's bloody godfather! That's almost as bad as me crushing after James!_

_But you must admit Sirius is a lot better-looking, nicer, sweeter, funnier…_

_All right, I get it. And it's true, but I won't fall for his charms aga—_

Hermione just noticed she was staring at Sirius. They both sat in Transfiguration class gazing intently into each other's eyes. Neither could turn away.

Remus angrily pulled out his wand and jinxed James's hand momentarily to retrieve his quill back. James pouted but didn't push Remus any farther; the werewolf could get very edgy very quickly when it came to class work. So James turned to Sirius for some more fun only to notice him staring at Miss Snicket. _This could be fun…_

James quietly whispered a spell. His quill wrote backwards an inch from the back of Sirius's head. If performed correctly, James would have succeeded the spell that made words appear on Sirius's forehead. A little giggle from Hermione told him that it worked.

Hermione, while staring at him, she noticed words started to write themselves on his forehead.

_I sleep in silky red boxers with my stuffed dog named Mr. Snuffles. _

Hermione giggled and leaned across the narrow aisle until she was uncomfortably close to his shocked face. "How is Mr. Snuffles?" she whispered in his ear. She quickly leaned back to her original position and started to pay attention to McGonagall again.

Sirius continued to stare at her, this time utterly confused. How did she know about Mr. Snuffles and why bring him up now? His question was answered when James whispered to him, "Hey Padfoot, you've got something on your forehead."

Sirius slowly turned around to find James smirking while twirling his wand expertly in his right hand. Sirius just laughed and pulled out a mirror from his pocket (he always kept one, jut incase). And unsurprisingly, there were words imprinted on his forehead. He muttered a quick spell and they disappeared instantly. He glowered at his friend for a moment while unnoticeably taking his wand out of his pocket. He whipped it out and enchanted his quill to soar straight at James. James, with the quickest reflexes in the school, made his quill intervene with Sirius's quill. They sword-fought with their quills for the last few minutes. Hermione, Harry, and Peter dropped what they were doing to watch while Remus frowned and continued to take notes.

_There you go again, Hermione, watching him while there is work to be done. Why can't you ever focus anymore?_ a part of her mind antagonized.

_It's because Sirius is around_, snapped another voice._ You can't focus with him around because you're hopelessly in love with him._

"Am not," Hermione said indignantly.

"What?" Sirius said distractedly, looking away from James for a moment.

"Nothing…Watch out!" she whispered as James's quill reared back.

Sirius turned back to James a second too late. The quill was centimeters in front of the spot between his eyes.

"Checkmate," James whispered evilly.

Sirius rolled his eyes and flicked his wand. The feather end started to tickle James behind the ear.

James gave a shriek-like laugh quietly, but loud enough to distract the class. "Ack! Stop it!"

Sirius dropped his wand and quill instantly as Professor McGonagall stopped talking to the class and faced them.

"What ails you now, Mr. Potter?" she asked in a weary tone.

James shot Sirius a deadly look as if warning him to keep his mouth shut. There was no way he would reveal his ticklish spot to the class. "I just, er… transfigured my quill into a mouse. It started to crawl up my leg and farther until—"

"Mr. Potter, I beg of you, stop," she said in the same tired tone. She rubbed her temples. "Just for once please try to pay attention. This is vital." She sighed and looked at her watch. She let out a sigh. "Never you mind," she muttered. "Homework: read about the simple human transfiguration spell and sum it up in less than one roll of parchment." She spotted Sirius's and James's hands waving high above the others. "And no, it cannot be one sentence. It has to be more than five sentences," she snapped irritably.

_RING!_

They all scrambled to get out of the classroom as quickly as possible to escape the wrath of Professor McGonagall; not only were they late to class, but they were caught fooling around during one of her lectures.

Hermione hurried off with Lily and the other girls. The Gryffindor boys headed off to the Great Hall for lunch. Nothing much happened during lunch. James and Sirius told a round of jokes that made even Lily laugh.

The rest of the day was uneventful for everyone, too. Remus and Hermione were then whisked off to Ancient Runes while the others went to Charms. Sirius growled when Kyle made to sit near him but did nothing more.

Hermione didn't meet up with everyone until dinner time. She and Remus spent some time in the library looking up the twenty symbols Professor Proudfeet assigned them. Remus left when Lily came in seeking help on potions. After that, dinner had already started but the girls couldn't work on an empty stomach, so they rushed down the flights of stairs and into the Great Hall where some people were already leaving. They automatically found the two messy mats of black hair and sat down with their friends.

Hermione sat with the girls while listening to the Marauders's tale about Charms class and how they managed to disappear James's head. She laughed along with everybody as Sirius, Peter, and James reenacted the scene.

"Er, Hermione," Sirius said smoothly after dinner as they stepped through the portrait to Gryffindor Tower with the others trailing a little ways back, "could you help me with that Defense homework Aylward gave us a few days ago?"

Hermione eyed him skeptically. "Sure," she said with a shrug. "I finished yesterday. Let me go get it from upstairs." With that she practically sprinted up to her dormitory.

"Okay, this does not mean anything," she said hurriedly to herself as she paced around the room. "He just needs help, that's all. I mean, who doesn't need help? Ron asked for it all the time. But didn't Harry say that he fancied me in that odd way? But Ron is much more different than Sirius. Anyways, Sirius has a girlfriend. I've even seen it myself." She sighed. "Just stop thinking about him that way. Why am I even thinking of him? He's just a friend."

She was about to say something else to herself when Saumya entered the room laughing her head off from a joke James had told. She looked around.

"Were you talking to yourself?" she asked through more laughter.

"Maybe," Hermione said uncertainly.

"What are you doing up here anyways?" Saumya asked rather nosily.

"I'm getting my Defense paper, er, to help Sirius," Hermione said more uncertainly that ever.

"Help Sirius? In Defense?" Saumya asked, outraged. Hermione nodded weakly. "That's his best subject!"

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in though. She grabbed her report and said nothing else as she exited the room. She walked down the stairs muttering to herself again, completely oblivious to the staring second years climbing the stairs. She slowly made her way down the rest of the steps.

In the common room near the fireplace, the Marauders were lounging about. Harry and James were at it again on the chess board. They both had their foreheads wrinkled with concentration. Remus was curled up on a chair looking a bit off color as he read a book about Human Transfiguration. Peter was scribbling as fast as possible on his Charms homework parchment with a few books and some of Remus's notes spread out over the small side table. Sirius was sprawled out on the large plushy sofa (almost asleep) with a piece of parchment resting on his stomach and his large feather quill tucked behind his ear.

Hermione noticed, as the common room came into view that her roommates (not including Saumya) were sitting at the table in the corner quietly doing their homework and across the room were the Marauders fooling around.

"All right, just help Sirius and then visit with the girls," she muttered to herself as she slowly made her way over to the fireplace. "Or read a book. That's it, perfect."

She quietly walked behind the sofa. Noticing that Sirius had his eyes closed and was starting to breath heavily, she thwacked him on the head with her paper.

"I didn't do it!" he shouted unconsciously. He looked around to find his friends shaking their heads and laughing at him. He glanced up to find an amused, yet irritated Hermione towering over him. "Hello Hermy," he said sleepily.

"_Don't_ call me Hermy," she said strictly.

Harry sniggered to their left. They both looked at him.

"Hey mate," he said to Sirius. "Don't both giving Hermione nicknames. Only one can call her Hermy." Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Grawp, of course," Harry said hurriedly. He returned to the chess game with everyone wondering who this Grawp was.

"Right." Sirius swung his legs off from the couch. He gave a slight wince and held his right shin.

"Oh, sorry about that kick during potions," Hermione apologized quickly.

"Naw, it's all right," Sirius said quickly. He slid to the other side of the sofa so Hermione could sit down.

"Er, shouldn't we work at a desk?" Hermione asked as she eyed the couch warily.

"Right you are," Sirius said cheerfully. He grabbed his paper and strolled quite animatedly over to an empty table with two chairs. He pulled out one for Hermione and sat down in the other one. Hermione met Remus's eyes over the edge of his book. They boy just rolled them and shook his head while returning to his book. Hermione giggled inwardly. She walked (regularly) over to the table and plopped down in the chair Sirius had pulled out for her.

"So what exactly are you having troubles with?" Hermione asked very business-like.

"Well…" Sirius was doing some quick thinking in his head. "What Aylward said about not just the pronunciation of the spell, but feeling and power behind it… and that some spells can only be used if you have the right incentive behind it…"

"Right," Hermione mumbled thumbed through his Defense book. "Ah ha," she exclaimed after a few moments of searching through the book. "See, it says here that if you wanted to use the Money-Making Spell, 'it would only work if your true intentions were to get rid of a serious debt'."

"I have debts?" Sirius joked. Hermione looked up to see him flashing a toothy smile.

"Funny," Hermione said, returning her eyes back to the book, "but I'd rather you stick to your pranks rather than your jokes."

"Ouch," Sirius winced but with that charming smile still on permanently.

She wanted to apologize but held her tongue tightly.

"All right," she said to change the subject, "just read these two paragraphs and summarize them." She held out the book for Sirius and pointed to a section describing emotions and intentions. "And then I'll clean it up for you after."

"Great." Sirius grabbed the book while keeping his thumb on the desired text. He scribbled things down while Hermione got up to ask Remus for his copy of an Ancient Runes translator.

As she neared them, she heard James ask, "I wonder why Padfoot needed help on Defense. He was raving just yesterday that he could beat Snivellus any day with any curse and his eyes blindfolded."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Peter said.

"It's because he wants to charm Miss Snicket," Remus said in a bored tone as he rolled his head towards his two friends. "Honestly, you two are the _densest _people around."

"Hey, where did Harry go?" James asked.

"I rest my case," Remus muttered loudly.

"Rest what case?" Peter asked confusedly.

"The case that you are all hopeless," Harry said from behind James. "I just went to get a book from my room, I even told you so! …Hey Hermione!"

Hermione stood behind, inconspicuously eavesdropping. She strolled out from her "hiding" place. "Hey. Er, Remus?" Remus looked up from behind his book again. "Can I borrow your Ancient Runes book? Mine's upstairs."

Remus looked at her. "Sure." He quickly dropped his book and dove into his bag beside him to retrieve the other book. He pulled it out and handed it to Hermione. "There you go… Did you finish the translations that we started in the library?" he asked. He wasn't too interested in what she did, but his real intention was to keep her from Sirius as much as possible.

"Not yet, that's why I needed the book. Did you?" she asked.

"I'm almost finished. It's just the last three confused me a bit."

"Really? I'd be glad to help when I'm finished with mine," she said brightly.

"I'd like that," Remus said softly with a small genuine smile.

Hermione smiled warmly and trotted back to the table where Sirius was. She sat down and opened up Remus's book. She didn't have much time to work on her Ancient Runes homework because Sirius cried out valiantly and slammed his quill down on the desk.

"There," Sirius said. "Done with that part."

"Let's see it," said Hermione impatiently. She read over his summary quickly. "This is good, but you could expand on the conclusion of emotions a bit more…" She wrote down a few sentences on a scratch piece of parchment. Sirius looked at her intently as her brow furrowed in studious thought while she bent over the paper. "Here, copy this down at the end of your paper. That should be enough."

"Thanks again Hermione," Sirius said in a sincerely grateful tone. "I just never really understood why you need emotions behind spells." He looked up from his paper to Hermione. "But I think I'm starting to."

Hermione gave him an odd look. "What is that supposed to—"

"So what do you think of Professor Aylward?" Sirius interrupted, talking while writing down Hermione's conclusion. "Isn't he the best?"

Hermione gave him a shrewd look. "I guess so… Yeah, he reminds me of one of my old teachers, Professor Lu—" She cut herself off short. In truth, Professor Aylwayd, teacher of Defense class at the time, had Lupin's way of teaching but could be as funny and good-humored as James or Sirius.

"Professor Loo?" asked Sirius, his grin splitting wider. "Now that's an intriguing name I've never heard of before."

Hermione rolled her eyes but laughed all the same. "Yes Sirius, Professor Loo, she would visit with people like Moaning Myrtle."

_How does she know about Myrtle? Another contribution to the list,_ Sirius thought mysteriously.

He laughed to mask his suspicion.

"Finished?" Hermione asked, glancing at his short essay.

"What—oh yeah. Done," Sirius grinned. "Thanks again."

"Not at all, Sirius," Hermione said, not meeting his eyes. She feared that she might break her promise to Remus and stay with Sirius for a while longer. She rather forcefully grabbed Remus's book and tore it open to read its contents.

"Right," Sirius said uncomfortably. He gathered his belongings and started to leave when he asked, "Why don't you join us while doing your homework?" He nodded his head over to the Marauders by the fireplace.

Hermione followed his gazed. It couldn't hurt to be with the Marauders, could it? "Sure, why not?" She too gathered up her things and followed the sauntering Sirius over to the Marauders. She would have sat on a lounging chair, but Remus and Peter were occupying both of them, so she sat on the couch next to a grinning Sirius. Without another glance at Sirius, she opened up Remus's Ancient Runes book and started to jot things down.

Harry and James were on their last few pawns, rooks, bishop, and of course, kings. Remus was reading while patiently waiting for Hermione to finish. Peter was still working on Charms, occasionally asking Sirius for help. Wanting to impress Hermione, he would tolerantly answer Peter's questions. Remus and James exchanged glances and Peter stared wide-eyed at Sirius, not listening to a word he was saying (which made Sirius a little perturbed since he had to repeat himself). Hermione did or said nothing.

When Peter had moved onto his Care of Magical Creatures homework, Sirius was allowed a rest from answering questions, since it was Peter's best subject. He edged a little closer to Hermione on the couch and leaned in to say something when something caught his eye. Bridget Bell had just entered the room. She was enchanting a rather thick roll of parchment to whack Spencer Spinnet over the head repeatedly while she was talking calmly to another 7th year.

Sirius straightened up and scooted towards the end of the couch, as far from Hermione and Bridget as possible with a terrified look about his face. _This is not happening… _he thought worriedly. _Why'd she have to come now?_

Hermione looked up to see him bolt out of the common room and into his dormitory. The Marauders and Harry gave her an odd look before returning to their previous situations.

A few minutes passed and Hermione started to help Remus with Ancient Runes. She quickly explained the last three runes before excusing herself hurriedly, saying she was very tired.

She thought of staying with her girl friends for awhile, but decided against it. She heard them gossiping on her way to the staircase.

"Yeah, _I _heard that he's taking Katie to the Halloween Ball," one of the girls shrieked.

"But you don't have dates for a Masquerade," hissed another.

"Hey Hermione," Lily called out. "Did you hear the news?"

"Sorry girls, I'm really tired. See you in the morning," Hermione called over her shoulder as she started to climb the stairs.

After she packed all her books away for the next day and changed out of her school clothes and into her pajamas, she hopped into bed and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

A black dog bounded across the inside of her eyelids. It stopped right in front of Hermione, tongue sticking out through its panting and its tail wagging happily. She kneeled down and ruffled the fur on its head. It, in response licked her enthusiastically on her cheek. Hermione giggled and stood up. As she grew in height, so did the dog, until it was standing on two human legs. Instead of the younger Sirius, who she had expected, the dog transformed into the older Sirius that didn't exist any more. He cocked his head to a side and gave Hermione a penetrating stare. Sirius's eyes widened before he started to fall backwards, just as he did in the Department of Mysteries. A veil appeared behind him, the material blowing ominously by an unforeseen wind. Hermione, as if by instinct, grabbed his robes and pulled him towards her. She caught him in her arms but didn't let go. The man she was hugging started to shrink a little. His hair grew shorter, and so did his height. She looked up to find the younger Sirius Black.

"Thank you," he whispered before tightening his hold on her.

A/N: Can anyone tell me where that joke is from and who said it? 713 bonus points for whoever does!

This is discouraging… only two reviews for my chapter. I guess that's what I get for not updating for such a long time. Oh well, maybe I'll get more reviews this time. looks at readers expectantly

Well, thanks **hehe** and **Rena**! Your reviews made me skip around the house and even sing in the shower (not as badly as Percy does, believe me!).

Sorry if this chapter didn't have too much of a plot. These next couple of chapters are the build-up to... the event that takes place at Halloween. I'll give you one guess as to what happens to Miss Snicket and Mr. Black there. tee hee hee...


	12. Chapter 12: Dreams

A/N: Hey guys! I'm so proud of myself. I've updated quickly again (or at least quicker than usual). So here is the last chapter before our young Siri and Hermy hook up. Enjoy!

**Chapter 12: Dreams**

Hermione was curled up on the couch in the common room in front of the crackling fire. Darkness was pushing against her body, trying to smother her. She sat there whispering a name, a name she knew well. She was so wrapped up in whispering his name that she did not notice someone creeping up behind. The figure jumped over the back of the couch and very lightly landed in a crouching position next to Hermione.

Grey.

That's what color she was lost in when she looked into his eyes. She tore her eyes away to soak in every detail of his loving face: his black, velvety hair, the soft, longing look in his eyes, his eyebrows arched in anxiousness, his lips had the slightest smile playing about them, though not a smirk, but a warm, welcoming smile.

Sirius slowly lifted his arm and draped it gently on her shoulders. She snuggled closer to him, feeling the heat he radiated and his quickening heartbeat that matched her own. Her head was buried on top his unbuttoned shirt when she heard his voice vibrating through his body.

"I'm here for you, Hermione." Even his voice sounded warm and caring.

She looked into those grey orbs. "Promise?"

"I will always be here to protect you," Sirius said with such sincerity, Hermione had no choice but to trust his words.

As a thank you, Hermione slowly extended her neck so their faces were closer. He finished the movement by leaning down, gently meeting her lips. The kiss was needing, but at the same time completely chaste. Hermione pulled back as Sirius did. She turned her face bashfully away towards the fire. They stayed there in the faint glow emitting from the slowly dying fire fully appreciating the other's presence.

"No!"

Hermione bolted up straight in her bed, ripping the curtains open unintentionally. She growled to herself in fury. _If you can't stop staring at him, at least stop dreaming about him!_

It had been a month since Dumbledore called Harry and Hermione up to his office to recite his warning. This also meant that it was two more days until Halloween. On Friday (Halloween), instead of just going to Hogsmeade, fifth years and above could attend an old tradition of Hogwarts: the Halloween Masquerade Ball. Of course, one didn't bring a date (much to Hermione's relief) but danced with whomever one wished to dance with, and that's how Hogwarts students liked it.

"No? No what?" Lily asked sleepily from her bed across the room. She stepped out of bed and into her warm slippers.

"Bad dream, 'Mione?" Saumya yawned.

"I guess you could say that…"

"Was it about a boy?" Freya pried as she brushed her blonde locks.

"Do we know him?" Dana added excitedly.

"Oh you two leave her alone," Lily ordered through giggles. "Not all girls every night think and dream about boys." She glared pointedly at Freya and Dana.

"Oh, but it's so much fun to tease them about it," Saumya said slyly. "Wasn't it just last night, Lily," (Lily's face paled) "that you were muttering something about a certain Gryffindor Quidditch star?"

"Ah ha!" Dana said triumphantly. "How do you plan to weasel your way out of that one?"

"I—I was, er…" Lily stuttered, "dreaming about that Spinnet boy?"

"Yeah, and I just had tea with a grindylow yesterday," Saumya replied sarcastically. "Look, let's just get down to breakfast. I'm starving!"

The girls giggled, but sped up the morning routine by a few minutes.

Down the stairs, across the platform, and up another set of stairs lay five soundly-sleeping boys. Not even one of them twitched the slightest until a boy in the corner by the window started to violently squirm, wrapping his sheets around himself. Sirius jumped out of bed suddenly, wiping away the beads of sweat that stung his eyes. He had had that awful dream again.

He was sitting in front of the crackling fire, staring at Hermione across the room, her nose in yet another book. Suddenly, a headache came on, and flashes of memories that were not his zoomed in front of him. A house blown to pieces—James and Lily sprawled on the ruins—a baby crying—a blown up street and a rat crawling away—a black dog fighting _alone_ against a werewolf he knew only too well—Harry fighting with a man in a hooded cloak with long, eerie fingers, piercing red eyes, and a high pitch laughter ringing horribly through his ears—Sirius felt himself falling backwards—And then Hermione appeared in front of him, more real than any of those other flashes. He stopped falling. Her face was saddened, tears rolling down her face. She laid a cold hand on his cheek.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She adjusted her gaze to something behind him. He followed her gaze. What he saw next was the last thing he expected. He fell to his knees as he caught sight of three grave stones. The two stones on the left read _James Potter, a great man, 1960-1981_ and the other _Lily Potter, a great woman, 1960-1981_. Shaking from fear and despair from the other two, Sirius read the last one: _Sirius Black, the most loyal friend and truest godfather, 1960-1995_.

Sirius, shaking his head from the disturbing dream, stood up to get a glass of water. As he sipped the cool ice water, he tried to remember what all the flashes were distinctly, but couldn't. The last scene was replaying right in front of his eyes just as it was in his dream. Why was he having these upsetting dreams over and over again? Did they mean something? Was his mind trying to tell him Hermione wasn't being all too truthful? He didn't have any exception not to believe her, except that odd conversation she was having with Harry, and all the times she knew things about Hogwarts no new student would learn even in their first few months, let alone weeks… Something was mysterious about her all right, and that's what made Sirius more enthralled.

Remus was grunting something incoherently. "I'm drowning in chocolate!" And Remus too, jumped out of bed but crashed to the floor seconds later thanks to his bed sheets and the curtains. He would have laid there for a few moments but the snickering coming from across the room was starting to irk him.

"Oh shut up, Padfoot," he snarled as he hopped out of the pell-mell pile of sheets.

"I didn't say a thing, Moony," Sirius said in what would have sounded innocent except for the sniggers.

Remus straightened and looked as if he just realized Sirius was there.

"What are you doing, being awake before me?" he asked.

Sirius didn't answer at first, but looked out the window. "Bad dream," he muttered.

Remus would have responded if a pillow hadn't launched itself at him, knocking him back onto his bed.

"What the—Peter!" he growled, rounding on the blonde-haired boy.

Peter was still laying down flat on his mattress with his curtains open.

"I told you guys if you ever woke me up again, I'd have to hurt you," Peter explained calmly with his eyes closed. He yawned and sat up. "Just be thankful that I don't have my wand." He shuffled out of the room to the bathroom. Remus shrugged and followed.

Now Sirius was left to wake the "twins". He decided to wake James first. Sirius bent down to whisper something in James's ear, but fell to the floor in surprise when James said, still looking peacefully asleep, "Sirius Black, do not wake me ever again or I will hex you into a million pieces."

Sirius scrambled up off the floor, giving a chuckle. "I _do_ hope you are awake Prongs, and not dreaming about yours truly."

James grumbled something and lazily stepped out of bed. "What—what—what are you doing out of bed so early?" he tried to ask though his yawn.

"I just—I had a bad dream," Sirius muttered again.

"What were you dreaming about?" James asked curiously.

Sirius's eyes darted to the bed that held Harry. Sirius heard Harry's steady breath and decided it was safe. "It's just that these past few weeks, I've been have this disturbing dream… and Hermione's in it." James gave him a warning glare, so Sirius explained a bit further rather quickly. "It's not what you think. First, there are these… images that flash across my mind." He gave an involuntary shiver. James noted this.

"What kind of images?" he asked tentatively.

Harry's steady, peaceful breathing had stopped moments before, but James and Sirius failed to notice.

"Well, they're all a blur right now, but I have never seen anything like them until this year. But I remember the flashes weren't pleasant."

"So what does Hermione have to do with this?" James asked.

"I'm getting there, Prongs," Sirius said impatiently. "So, I see these memories (that aren't really mine to begin with) and they end with me falling backwards, right? But I stop falling and Hermione appears in front of me in tears. She says 'I'm sorry I didn't tell you' and then looks over my shoulder…" Sirius stopped suddenly.

"What?" James asked quickly. "What was it?"

Sirius looked at his friend with a grim expression, which one did not see everyday on Sirius Black's usually cheerful face. "Our graves." James leaned back so his back was straight. "Yours, Lily's, and mine… James, I didn't even live to be forty! You and Lily were dead before your twenty-second birthday!"

"Sirius, mate, calm down." James gripped Sirius's arm and pulled Sirius down, who did not remembering standing up at any point. "It was just a dream, all right? We all have nightmares."

"But James, you don't understand," Sirius pleaded, knowing full well that he sounded insane. "That dream felt as real as you do right now. I can't forget something like that…"

Harry chose this time to be perfect. "Good morning, mates," he said sleepily as he stepped out of his bed.

Sirius and James gave each other a look before returning the "good morning" to Harry. They left the conversation at that.

The day proved to be quite dull and dreary as any other day. It had been raining almost everyday for the past month and didn't look as if it would let up any time soon. Sure, the Marauders set Snape's greasy hair on fire, but all in all, it was a normal day.

James and Harry had just arrived from Quidditch practice when everyone else was cuddled around the fireplace late that night, both the Marauders and the girls (Hermione, Lily, Saumya, Freya, and Dana). The Potter boys were dripping their muddy water onto the rich red carpet. The rest of the Quidditch team trekked into the common room moments later. Regardless of the sweat and rain and mud they were drenched in, all of them looked ecstatic.

James strode over to his friends and shook his hair violently, acting uncannily like a wet dog. His mixture of foul-smelling perspiration and mud-rain sprayed everyone within a three meter radius.

"Potter!" Lily growled heatedly as she vigorously wiped her Charms homework clean.

"That's disgusting!" Saumya laughed, clearly finding it the very opposite.

"I take it practice was good, mon capitaine?" Sirius asked, laughing with Saumya and Peter as he absentmindedly brushed his wet face clear with his sleeve.

"Oui oui," James answered, unable to get that contagious smile off his face. Harry walked up behind them.

"Listen mate," Harry said, laying a hand on James's shoulder. "Why don't we clean ourselves off before we hang with our friends?"

"Yes, please," Remus joked.

James faced his friend with an evil smile on. "Oh Remus, you know I always liked you the best…." In one fluid motion he was beside Remus.

"Oh no…" Remus mumbled.

Before anyone knew what was going to happen, James started to… act like a cat. He butted his wet head against Remus's shoulder, therefore contaminating Remus's sweater, and started to purr. The girls shrieked with giggles. Sirius and Peter were losing it. Harry, Hermione, and Lily were shaking their heads but couldn't suppress a smile. When Remus's shoulder was fully damp from James's wild hair, the werewolf shoved him away playfully.

"For Merlin's sake, take a shower!" he laughed. "You reek beyond reason!"

James shrugged. "All right, if you say so… but I'll be back," he said in a slick, suave tone that made everyone peel into more laughter. James, satisfied that he brightened up everyone, turned around and marched up the back stairs singing at the top of his lungs his victory song for Quidditch that he made up himself. Harry rolled his eyes and made to follow his father.

"Well that was… interesting," Peter said uncertainly.

"Aw great, now I'm going to smell like a dog for the rest of the night," Remus commented to himself, but loudly for everyone else to hear. Sirius raised his eyebrows while everyone else chuckled.

Gradually, everyone went back to what they were doing before the Quidditch invasion. The girls went back to homework, as did Peter. Remus stuck his nose back in _Spellman's Syllabary_. Sirius, apparently struck by a new thought, stared deeply into the fire. He didn't even look up when James slammed down on the couch next to him.

When Sirius wouldn't yell at him for rubbing his clean, but still wet hair against Sirius's new white t-shirt, James asked, "What're you thinking about, Padfoot?"

Hermione's eyes popped up from her book.

"I just came up with a brilliant idea," Sirius said slowly.

"What is it?" James asked wearily.

Sirius acted as if he hadn't heard James. James opened his mouth to ask again, but Sirius cut him off.

"Wouldn't it be cool if we, the Marauders, started a band?"

Crickets chirped. Everyone looked up from their homework or books except Remus, who was so engrossed in Ancient Runes it scared the Marauders.

"Padfoot… have you been into Moony's chocolate stash again?"

"_You touched my chocolate?!_" yelled Remus angrily, slamming his book shut.

"No, no I didn't, I swear," Sirius begged in a tiny voice. The last time Sirius had taken some of Remus's chocolate without asking, he ended up in the hospital with hex marks covering him _everywhere_. "But we could be a band," Sirius stated simply. "You know, music and such…"

Deciding Sirius was telling the truth about his chocolate, and being highly amused, Remus decided to play along. "All right Padfoot, what instruments would we all play?"

"You'd play the bass guitar."

"Bass, huh?" Remus asked, more pleased with his friend's answer than he expected to be.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, feeling more relaxed knowing Remus believed him. He turned to Peter, who was watching anxiously. "Peter could play the drums."

Peter suddenly got glassy eyes as he imagined sitting behind a huge drum set rocking out like Ringo Starr. "I like that idea…"

"What would I play?" James asked excitedly.

Sirius laughed. "Well, Prongs, you could give a go at the tambourine."

James looked mortified at the thought. "No!" he yelled. "I have to play something cooler than that!"

Sirius sighed dramatically. "Fine, I guess you could try the keyboard… Seriously, you take all the fun out of things…"

"Hey, I could play the keyboard," James mused aloud.

"Yeah, simple enough for even you to play," Saumya mocked.

"Oh yeah?" James challenged. "Well see who has the millions of galleons and who is the poor one, wishing she had tickets to see our concert!"

"And what would you play, Sirius?" Peter asked in a kind voice, more pleasant than James's yelling voice.

"I…" Sirius drew himself, puffing out his chest, "would be lead guitar."

A giant silence sounded before the eruption of laughter sounded out through the 6th years.

"Air guitar is more like it," James suggested with a huge smirk.

"Aw, come on," Sirius begged, "it's not that funny." He sounded hurt.

The laughter died down eventually.

"We're not laughing at your choice of instrument," Saumya finally said. "We're laughing at how idiotic this whole idea is!"

Sirius guffawed but did not argue. Once he thought about it, it really wasn't all too bright of a plan. Still, it _was_ fun to think up!

Dana, Freya, and Saumya packed up their things and bid everyone good night, but not before mocking Sirius's idea one last time.

Hermione said nothing from the moment she sat down with her book but watched Sirius now and then avidly. How did he do this to her? How did he manage to redirect her focus onto him? Hermione slammed her book shut louder than she planned. Muttering a quick apology, she stuffed it into her bag and crossed the common room after, too, saying good night to the Marauders. Lily was right behind her.

"She's an odd little girl," commented Peter, as if talking about the weather.

"You have no idea," Harry muttered. He pulled out his Transfiguration book and started to read. Remus went back to Ancient Runes homework and Peter to his Charms. Sirius and James held a mini-duel. Minutes later, the twosome decided a break was in order: James had transfigured Sirius's hair into black spaghetti and Sirius had used a Color-Change Charm to dye James's skin blue.

"You know, most people don't wear spaghetti, but you Black can pull it off with style."

James and Sirius whipped around to find two of the Quidditch players joining them.

"I can give you matching hair if you like, Spinnet," James laughed. Spencer Spinnet grinned and sat down on the other side of James while Bridget Bell curled up next to Sirius. She bit off the tip of one of his strands of "hair".

"Mmm, tasty," she giggled. James, Sirius, and Spencer laughed. Remus and Peter were determined to actually finish at least one piece of homework that night, so they ignored the jokers. Harry never gave up the opportunity to watch or talk with his father or godfather, so he laid down his book and joined the conversation.

"Here, I'll fix it," James said, brandishing his wand again.

"Oh no, that's all I need, you to set my bloody hair on fire," Sirius laughed.

James stuck his tongue. "I don't appreciate the insinuation, Black."

They all laughed some more. Bridget tapped Sirius on the head with her wand and _poof_, it was back to its original form.

"Thanks, love," Sirius said.

She kissed him on the cheek. "No problem."

Twenty minutes until midnight, Remus, Harry, and Peter yawned some form of good night and trudged up the stairs. It wasn't long at all before a clock chimed midnight.

"Ack!" James coughed, glancing at his watch. "I can't let you all stay up this late!"

"Let us stay up?" Spencer echoed. "We're bloody older than you!"

"Ah, but I'm the Quidditch captain," James said knowingly, puffing out his chest. "Team, go to bed!" he shouted. He looked around to find they were the only ones still awake.

"Heh," Spencer chuckled. "Looks like 'the captain' fell behind."

"Can it, Spinnet," James ordered.

Spencer glared at the Potter boy before clapping his hands and saying, "See you all tomorrow, bright and early." He exited the common room while muttering something about classes being too early and homework being too much.

Bridget turned to Sirius. "'Night, Siri," she said sweetly.

"Well that's a different way of saying good night," James commented. "I think I like this way better than you snogging."

"We're getting there," Sirius said without thinking. Before Sirius could add a "just joking!", Bridget leaned in and their lips smashed. If Sirius didn't always just go with the flow, he would have done many things differently: he would have made it a short kiss, he wouldn't have kissed her back with a passion, and most importantly he wouldn't have leaned in for more when she pulled away. But Sirius did the exact opposite.

Bridget smiled, but disappointment was shining in her eyes. She left without another word.

James rounded on his friend as Bridget's strawberry-blonde hair disappeared around the staircase. "What in the name of Quidditch do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

"I don't know," groaned Sirius. He plopped down on the couch and put his head in his hands.

"If you like Bell so much, then why go after Hermione?" James asked a little more softly as he sat beside Sirius.

"Because I like Bridget, but then I'm also drawn to Hermione," he answered in a pitiful voice.

James thought in silence for a moment, and then—"Okay, here's what we're going to do." Sirius looked up with his wide, puppy-dog eyes. "We are going to make a list… to find out which girl you like better."

"M'kay."

James pulled out a piece of scrap paper and a quill. He made a chart, one side labeled _BB_, the other _HS_. "All right. Which girl is more funnier?"

"I'm going to ignore your grammar mistake for the time being," Sirius muttered. "Bell."

James scratched one tally mark under _BB_. "Which girl is wittier?"

"Hermione."

"One for Hermione… Which girl is a better kisser?" James asked slyly.

"Hmmm, Bell is pretty experienced…" James put one tally for Bridget. "But Hermione kisses like a sweet, innocent girl, which is a nice change." James growled slightly as he added one for Hermione.

"Which girl are you more excited to see?"

"It's always fun to meet Bell inside an empty classroom." One more for Bridget. "But Hermione doesn't want to be a mindless snogger. She wants to talk and actually be around the person." Another for Hermione.

"Sirius, just make up your mind," James sighed. "This list'll go on forever." Sirius glared. "Fine… who do you think about during classes?"

Sirius stared off into space. "You know James, I think I've finally got an answer. I dream about Hermione. I think about her all the time. She's the only one to turn me down. There's something inside her I just can't explain, but I want to. I want to know her more than any other girl. I've made up my mind, Prongs."

"So it's Snicket then?" James almost groaned. Sirius nodded. "Why couldn't you take the girl that Moony _didn't_ fancy?"

"I didn't plan to fall for the booky girl!" Sirius half-yelled.

"Fine, whatever. But what are you going to do about Bell?"

"I'll… break it up tomorrow," Sirius said slowly.

"Okay, but you better not emotionally damage my Quidditch player. We need her for next week's game," James said seriously.

"Promise," Sirius laughed. They strolled up the stairs and into their dormitories, only to fall asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows.

Sirius dreamed of Hermione again, but this time it wasn't the regular disturbing dream. She was sitting on the couch in front of a crackling fire. He jumped over the back of the couch and into a crouching position. He put his arm around her and muttered something sweet to her. She returned it with a passionate, yet innocent kiss. He pulled back the same moment she did. She turned towards the fire while he just stared at her.

"_Sirius_," said a faraway voice. "_Hermione has brought you a new, juicy bone to gnaw on…_"

Sirius bolted straight up. He looked wildly around.

"Aw quit it guys," he growled. He pushed aside James to stand out form his bed. He found James, Remus, and even Peter awake (Sirius heard the water running and guessed that Harry was in the bathroom), all surrounding his bed. "Glad that no one let's go of anything these days," he muttered under his breath. "I was having an excellent dream, mind you. Couldn't let me have a few more minutes, could you?"

"Padfoot."

"Eh, go away Remus," Sirius yawned as he rubbed his eyes. He rummaged through his open trunk. He pulled out a clean white shirt and buttoned it up slowly, still half-awake.

"Sirius! You have thirty minutes before class starts," Remus yelled.

"What?!" Sirius pounced on Remus and grabbed his friend's wrist. He read the watch. "Bloody hell! I've got to see Bridget too!" He ran out of the room.

"I didn't know he needed a snog this early in the morning," Peter commented lightly.

"How long do you think it'll be before he realizes he is still wearing his red boxers?" James asked Remus.

"Five, four, three, two," Remus counted slowly. He pointed towards the door. "One."

"Why didn't you tell me I didn't have any pants on?!" Sirius growled as he burst through the door again. He grabbed a pair of pants and jumped into them. He ran out of the room again.

"How did you know that?" Peter asked awestruck.

"All dogs are so predictable," Remus answered nonchalantly.

Running a hand through his hair to straighten it, Sirius sprinted out of the common room. As he was running through the halls, he passed by Hermione.

"Good morning, Hermione!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Without falling out of step, he raced to one of the Charms rooms. He skidded to a halt when he spotted the strawberry-blonde curls. She was a few meters away from the Charms room, giggling with a bunch of seventh years.

"Oy, Bell!" He waved at Bridget, signaling urgency. She punched Spinnet lightly for saying something, but made her way over to Sirius quickly. He pulled her into an empty classroom, panting for air.

"I was expecting you," Bridget said.

"I didn't—come here—to snog," Sirius wheezed.

"I didn't expect that either." Sirius looked questioningly at her. "You see, I was expecting this way before, actually, but you do seem to put things off until the last moment."

"What are you talking about?"

Bridget placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you like her. It's all right." Her voice didn't sound hurt at all; on the contrary, it sounded pleased.

"How did you know about Snicket?" Sirius asked, finally able to breathe again.

"One, I'm not blind," Bridget said, chuckling. "And two, I hear things. You are one of the most-talked-about guys, aren't you?"

"And you're not mad?" Sirius asked, hardly believing the tone of voice he was hearing.

"Well, I'm a little upset that you didn't tell me sooner."

"So you know I came here to break up with you, right?" Sirius asked, just to make sure they were all on the same foot.

"Yes." Bridget sighed. "These past ten months have been a blast, Sirius, so don't think that I'm glad this is over. Sure it's been fun, but I think it's time we moved on."

Sirius looked relieved. "I agree… Wait, does this mean you have someone else in mind?" he asked mysteriously.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Bridget said with a grin.

"So you won't be flying poorly for the next Quidditch game because of me?" Sirius asked.

"No…" Bridget answered, raising her eyebrows at what she thought was a random question.

"Great… Oh, James just warned me to not emotionally damage his Quidditch player," he laughed.

"That's James, always worrying about his sport…"

They looked at each other solemnly for a moment.

"So I guess this is it," Sirius said awkwardly.

"Yeah…" Bridget kissed him on the cheek. "Hermione seems like a really nice girl. I'm glad you didn't leave me for a slut." Sirius chuckled. "But seriously, Hermione is a lucky girl to have a friend like you." She smiled her sweet smile before exiting the classroom.

"All right, dump old girlfriend, check." Sirius sighed. "Get new girlfriend, damn near impossible."

A/N: Did ya like it? Did ya like it enough to review?

Thanks: **dawn1**, **Mai Gamit**, **puss in boots 119**, **sapphire66**, and **addygan**! You all rock!

As for the 713 bonus points (FYI, 713 is my favorite number, not just because it is the vault number for the philosopher's stone):

**Firemoonstar**: (Nice name) On the nosy! Take your points! Thanks! … AH HA!! _Knew_ I was missing something, the full moons! Don't worry, I'll mention them soon. That is when Hermione will finally tell the Marauders she know about the lycanthropy and the Animagus transformations. Thanks for reminding me!

**Scarlet moon**: Ack! You got the person right, but it was in Goblet of Fire! So you can take 356.5 points… just kidding! You reviewed and that's all that really matters. Thanks!

**Artemisgirl**: At least you remember the joke. It is in book 4, chapter 12, page 186 said by Headmaster Dumbledore at the bottom part of the page, just incase you wanted to know the exact info wink. Ah, the real question is who will Hermione dance with, hm? Let's think about this… And I just always pictured Snape fancying someone who he could never hook up with. Thanks!

**Doodler­Girl**: You have been the closest to the joke. You can 713 and ¾ of points! Eh heh, and yes, I DO have very strange dreams. I have my cat scan scheduled for any day now!

**Nicc**: yep, Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore. Thanks for reviewing!

**Blondekat3**: Yep, and I just love that scene in the book! Thanks!

**Christine**: Er, sorry. It's Dumbledore in the fourth book. But Mundungus would have been my second guess… Now that I think about it, he would tell a joke like that…

**Soyamonkey**: And 713 points you will get! Dumbledore in the fourth book!

As for the rest of you awesome reviewers:

**Dancerchick314**: Er… how many chapters… I have no idea! Heh heh, I can't plan that far ahead… it's just not possible! Yeah, wouldn't all love a money-making charm? That would be bloody useful! And I don't you'll be disappointed with the next chapter, the end of the build-up. I hope you'll enjoy it and continue to read it!

**Gwuinivyre**: You read all of my story in one go? Wicked! I'm so glad you think the characters are true to their original selves. That makes me so happy! And it is too true when you said that most stories just make Harry a happy little popinjay but in reality, he would be all avoidy and moody. The drinking scene was a big hit, and I loved writing it! Thanks!

**Pieceocake**: What do you mean "it's easy to see where this is going"? It's not supposed to, other than the fact that Sirius and Hermione hook up. But that's a give-in, since it says in the summary it's a HGSB romance!! Er—thanks.

**Eman**: Thanks again for reviewing! You rock for thinking my stories rock! Thanks so much for reading my story!!!

Just so you know, I might just add a few more Beatles "things" in this story. I just love 'em! And also, the lines from Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone are dedicated to my sister. She just finds the insinuation scene to be so funny! She's crazy, just like me!

I also must give some credit away for the Marauder's band idea. My friends and I were at a sleep-away camp, and just to pass the time, we all thought up of different names for our band (we really don't have one, but if we did…). So one of my friends suggested the name Marauders. Then the other just bursts out laughing. She had pictured the Marauders on stage playing songs. So they all helped with coming up with which Marauder would play which instruments. We were just crazy at the time! (Can't we all be sometimes?)


	13. Chapter 13: A Masquerade

A/N: Sorry if at any point this chapter seems cheesy! Enjoy!

**Chapter 13: A Masquerade**

"So it's costumes?"

"Yep."

"What style are we wearing again?"

"The black one."

"Like a Zorro costume?"

"Exactly."

James and Sirius were wandering around Hogsmeade on the morning of the ball. They were discussing their semi-matching Halloween ensemble. The twosome was planning to wear all black; capes, tie-on masks, hats, pants, and boots. The only variation was the difference in color of their silky button-down shirts. James's was a deep, rich forest green while Sirius's was a royal, bright red.

James suddenly spotted the other two Marauders and Harry exit a costume store. "Oy!" he called out.

Remus, who had been fiddling with his bag, looked up at the sound of James's voice. He elbowed Peter and Harry and they met up with James and Sirius.

"So… what'd you buy?" James asked, sounding quite feminine.

"Oh, I bought the _cutest_ thing," squealed Remus, playing along.

"No, seriously," interrupted Sirius. "What do all your costumes look like?"

"Well," Harry started, "I'm wearing a pirate costume."

"Pirates have masks?" James asked. They headed down the main street to the Three Broomsticks. Lunch had already passed, but they decided they couldn't say no to a butterbeer.

"They do now," Harry laughed.

"Better than my outfit," grumbled Peter.

"Why, what's yours?" Sirius asked.

"The only one I could afford is an 'Elizabethan attire'. It has those stupid puffy pants," he moaned.

The rest of them managed to stifle their laughter.

"And what about you, _Remy_?" Sirius asked with a grin. "Did you buy one of those horrible togas?"

"Ugh, no," Remus said, disgusted. "I am much more sophisticated than that!" he said snobbishly.

"You didn't buy one of those frou-frou Victorian outfits, did you?" Sirius groaned.

"The very same," Remus said with a smile. "And I'm going to ignore your comment about the frou-frou-iness of my spiffy costume."

"Spiffy?" Peter echoed.

"Well I think you made a good choice," James said, slapping Remus on the back. "You're probably the only guy who could actually pull that look off, the whole frou-frou-iness of it all."

"Ah, shut it. You're just jealous."

They strolled into the Three Broomsticks. James waved to Madame Rosmerta as they walked over to their usual table in the corner. They fell into their seats and waited for the young waitress to take their orders.

"What can I get you, boys?" Madame Rosmerta asked, chewing blowing gum. The young witch looked as if she had just graduated from Hogwarts a year or two ago.

"The strongest stuff you've got," James ordered. The rest of them laughed.

Madame Rosmerta gave him a patronizing look. "Butterbeer is the strongest stuff for you lot today, lads," she said a grin.

"Butterbeers it is, then," Sirius called out. "Five if you please. We have a new friend in our midst. My lovely Rosmerta, meet Harry Thewler."

Madame Rosmerta looked at Harry. He felt like a Weasley because he blushed at the sight of her. He couldn't help his thoughts; Madame Rosmerta was quite a looker, even more so when she was younger.

"Nice to meet you Harry, though it feels as if I shouldn't be introducing myself," she said with a laugh. "You look so much like James it's—"

"—Uncanny, I know," James finished for her. He grinned. "He's related to me somehow… He definitely inherited my good looks."

"Prongs, you idiot, your cousin twice removed can't inherit anything form you," Remus said wearily.

Madame Rosmerta chuckled with the rest of them. "I'll be right back with your drinks." She turned and shuffled off.

"So what do you think of _Madame Rosmerta_?" James asked Harry, knowing full well what Harry actually thought.

"She seems nice," Harry said respectfully.

"Oh come on," Sirius groaned. "Even Peter could come up with something better than that!"

"Hey!" Peter exclaimed, sounding incredibly insulted.

"Well, I won't say she's not pretty…" muttered Harry.

"Here you are lads." Madame Rosmerta was back as she placed everyone's drinks on the table. "The strongest drinks for such strong men." She pushed the mugs towards each boy, giving Harry a wink. "Call me if you need anything else." She left with a smile. Harry just noticed how very curvy she was. He was caught staring at her retreating figure.

"'I won't say she's not pretty'," quoted James mockingly.

"She's beautiful, admit it!" said Sirius.

"Yeah, I guess she is," Harry said bashfully.

Remus decided Harry did not find this topic as amusing as did James and Sirius, and decided to save him. He turned to James and Sirius. "You're planning to do something at the dance, are you?"

"Well, let's see," started Sirius.

"We'll dance," suggested James.

"Eat."

"Dance some more."

"Hang out, free of homework for the night."

"You know, just usual stuff you do at a dance," James said casually.

"What else would we do?" Sirius asked.

"Unless, Moony, you're thinking we might… with a girl…"

"Eeeeww!" the twosome squealed in unison.

"Knock it off," Remus said while giving them a good hit on the head. "You know what I mean; are there going to be any pranks involved?"

"Moony, I am offended," James said, sounding truly hurt.

"We never cause any form of mischief," Sirius said innocently.

"Why would you ask such a thing?" James asked.

"Because I know you two all too well," Remus muttered.

"Come on," Peter said eagerly. "There has to be something you'll do."

"Well Wormtail, I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," said Sirius. Peter looked disappointed.

"But we're really not planning anything big at all," James said quickly. "it might just be a tiny little thing that no one will notice."

"Yeah, we want to have fun at the dance too," Sirius pouted.

It wasn't until later James smacked Sirius on the arm. "Mate, we've got to pick up our costumes."

"Bugger," whispered Sirius as grabbed Remus's watch again. Remus rolled his eyes, really wishing Sirius would get a watch someday soon. "See you later mates." Sirius slid out of his chair.

"Yeah, we'll meet you…er, somewhere," James said hurriedly as they rushed out of the pub. They ran out into the street and walked quickly over to the costume shop placed down the street. James noticed it was rather crowded inside the store.

"Why don't you wait here Padfoot," James suggested. "I'll get the costumes."

"Right-o."

James walked up to the door and held it open for two girls; Lily and Hermione exited the store. Hermione thanked James while Lily just looked away. James sighed and entered the store feeling less happy than before.

After a few minutes of pushing and shoving to the counter and waiting even longer for the two costumes, James finally made his way out of the store holding two Zorro-type costumes in each hand. He looked outside to find Sirius and Hermione talking, but it seemed all too tense for a friendly chat. Hermione was avoiding Sirius's eyes, mumbling something weakly to the ground. Sirius was on the verge of letting loose that ill-temper of his.

Finally Sirius cracked. "When will you stop hiding behind your books and live a little?!" Sirius, who had not seen James off to the side, spun on his heel and stormed off towards the Hogsmeade gate. James made to follow after him, but someone grabbed his arm. It was Lily.

"Let him go," she said quietly. James, for some reason forgot how to talk, just nodded his head and wandered down the street aimlessly.

Hermione was speechless. There was hurt shining in her eyes along with the making of tears. Lily walked up to her and put her arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"It's okay, honey," Lily cooed. "Sirius just gets mad when things don't go the way he wants them to. We can do whatever you want to now." Hermione didn't say anything. "Let's go get something sweet to eat."

Lily led Hermione to an restaurant that served ice cream and ordered two chocolate scoops. Hermione stayed quiet most of the time, but not because she was still speechless. She was thinking.

"Lily," she said abruptly. "Will you help me pick out a costume for tonight?"

"You've changed your mind about going tonight, then?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Yes, yes I have."

"Great!" Lily paid for the ice cream and practically dragged Hermione by the arm back to the costume store. They browsed down the aisle, giggling and ogling at all of the different outfits. At long last, Lily squealed, "Ooo! This is beautiful, isn't it? And look! It's not even that expensive!"

Hermione fingered the fabric. "It's perfect."

"Have at thee, fiend!"

"James, quit fooling around. You'll poke someone's eye out. Your wand isn't really a sword," Remus reminded his friend.

James was staring at himself in the mirror, holding his wand out like a sword. He huffed at Remus, but slid the thin wood into its sleeve on his belt. The Marauders had all changed into their costumes, as it was ten minutes before they decided to make their entrance at the ball. The ball itself had started fifteen minutes before, but the Marauders never arrived on time. They always had to make their entrance.

James was dressed in his Zorro outfit, always twirling around like a little kindergartner to make his cape swish. Peter stood moodily off to the side, a ways away from the mirror so he wouldn't have to look at his frilly Elizabethan costume. Harry was wearing a pirate costume with a black, ragged old cloth mask shielding his eyes (A/N: think of a costume not so far from Captain Jack Sparrow). Remus stood proudly, seeming to fit the era of his costume quite well. He wore a matching jacket and trousers, both a color of beautifully rich blue and a white shirt underneath. His mask was a moon-like silver.

There was a sudden bang, and Sirius stepped out from the bathroom, the black cape flying behind him. He had lightened up just enough to be friendly around his closest mates after Hogsmeade. He tore out his wand and charged James, ready to fence.

"Ah ha!" he said through the black mask that covered his eyes.

Wands clashed and gold and scarlet sparks flew. Harry and Peter were cheering while Remus just scowled.

"No sword fighting with wands in the dorm! You'll set something on fire—AH!"

"Wow Moony, you predicted the future!" James laughed. As their wands had clashed, a spark of fire flew out and had landed on the bed nearest to Remus. "_Finite!_" James yelled and the fire disappeared as did the scorch mark.

"Sorry Moony," Sirius said with a grin, not looking apologetic at the least.

"Yeah right," Remus muttered. "Let's just go downstairs before you set one of us on fire."

"And I'm hungry too," complained Peter.

"Right, let's go."

As James tore open the door, a shriek sounded from the 6th year girls' dormitory. They ignored this and continued to stride down the stairs, through the empty common room and through the empty halls. They all heard the faint music growing louder as they got closer to the Great Hall.

The Hall was decorated with pumpkins, candles, bats, spider webs, all things symbolizing Halloween. There were tables around the edge of the Great Hall, each seating around a dozen of people. There was a band playing in the background.

As the Marauders entered the Great Hall, more than a few girls stopped talking with their friends (and boyfriends even) to take a peek at the infamous Marauders. Remus, Peter and Harry had entered first, followed by James and Sirius, who had seemed to taken up their sword fight again. They battled their way into the ball and into the center of the room. As Sirius was backed away to avoid James's thrust that would have hit his heart, he bumped into someone.

"So you got stuck with chaperone duty, Professor?" Sirius said.

"So it would seem," McGonagall said edgily.

"And sorry for bumping into you," he said as he took off his hat and swept into a bow.

"Why can't you act like everyone else and just dance, not sword-fighting with wands?" McGonagall asked tiredly, rubbing her temples.

"Never be normal!" James cried out indignantly, as if it was his battle cry.

"Just be careful and watch where you're going," said McGonagall said in the same tone. She walked away.

"Kill-joy," muttered James.

"Too true," agreed Sirius. They walked over to their roommates, who had gotten a table a little ways off from the center. A lot of girls had giggled a compliment on their costumes, where James drew off his hat and gave a bow and Sirius just scowled. Sirius had scanned the entire hall and never saw any form of the bushy-brown haired girl he was hoping to see.

Two girls, sisters in fact, asked James and Harry to dance, who they whole-heartedly agreed to. An extremely pretty seventh year asked Sirius to dance, acting very shy. But the way she practically pressed her body against his, he knew it was just an act. Peter asked a fifth year to dance with him, and she looked as if on the verge of saying no, but she saw James mouthing the words 'Dance with him'. She couldn't disappoint James, so she agreed. Remus stood off to the side with punch in his hand, talking away with some girl in her seventh year.

Fifteen minutes later and Sirius's mood had certainly darkened. He had at the least expected Hermione would show up but there was no sight of her anywhere. Taking a hint, Remus, Harry, and Peter left him to sit at the table when the first note of a slow dance hit their ears. James sat faithfully beside his friend, though he was acting very jittery, as if wanting to dance with that pretty brunette standing by the punch. Sirius would have dismissed his friend, but then he heard James gasp.

"Lily?" James breathed as he quickly stood up, though he was choked by his cape, seeing that it got caught on the chair. "You look… I don't think beautiful is a strong enough word!"

"Why, thank you Po—James." There stood Lily, the girl of James's dreams, in a beautiful green dress that complimented her stunningly green eyes. The dress belonged to the Victorian era as did the hairstyle. Her red, wavy locks were magically held up in a sort of fancy ponytail. Her mask was pure white as was the choker that was wrapped around her neck. James had expected her to wear something like that, except the low neckline, though he certainly didn't mind that.

"No Potter, hm… so I'm James now, am I?" James asked, grinning.

"Isn't that your name?" Lily asked. She was under Hermione's instruction to act nicely towards James. If Lily didn't, Hermione had threatened not to come to the ball at all.

_Man, _Sirius thought, _she's a great actor if she's being all kind and courteous towards people like James…_

"Er…" _Don't forget how to talk NOW!_ his brain yelled. "Yes, it is." _You're stupid, you know that?_ James composed himself and tore of his hat. "Milady, would you care for a dance?"

"I suppose you will keep on asking me this if I answer no?" Lily asked.

"To dance with you would be such an honor, one I will not give up on so easily," replied James. He ignored Sirius's hacking cough in the background.

Even Lily looked taken aback at how polite and… humane James was speaking. "I guess I could spare you one dance."

"_Yes!_" James hissed excitedly. Lily raised her eyebrows. "I mean, let us dance." He threw his hat at Sirius and took a hold of Lily's hand as he led her onto the dance floor.

Sirius watched them in what looked like envy. He didn't even look away when a shadow covered him from a figure standing in front of him.

"And I wonder why Hogwarts's most-wanted bachelor is sitting all by himself when he could be dancing the night away."

Sirius glanced up at the figure, but could not recognize her. "Because he is looking for the right partner," he said edgily.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" the girl asked.

"Had a girlfriend," Sirius said, wishing the girl would leave him alone. "Just dumped her," he continued as the girl continued to look confused.

"So when will you know who this 'right partner' is?"

"I'll look into those deep, toffee-colored eyes and know…." Sirius finally looked through the eye holes of this girl's mask. His jaw dropped. Hermione.

But it was Hermione like he had never seen her before. Her bushy hair was replaced by a shiny, wavy curtain that had been tamed to move perfectly. She even had the tiniest bit of makeup, but her face still looked so natural. She, just like Lily, wore a Victorian dress, but this one was a rich midnight color, and the material seemed to sparkle like the stars themselves. It also had a more modest neckline, but not by much. She, too, wore a choker with a charm of a magical ball that resembled a star. The bottom half of her dress had three layers, each growing a darker shade of blue until the hem was an endless black.

"Mr. Black, would you care to dance?" she asked sweetly.

Sirius took a leaf out of James's cheesy yet suave book. "I would be honored to dance with such a beauty." He, too, whipped off his hat and swept onto the dance floor with Hermione's hand in his. He gulped and laid a gentle hand on her waist and lightly grasped her hand with his other and started to twirl. It was odd for Sirius to feel awkward with a girl, but to him, this was not an ordinary girl.

"So what made you change your mind? Sirius asked softly.

Hermione's eyebrows disappeared under her mask for a moment as they furrowed. "Well," she said at last, "I thought about what you said…" she sighed. _No turning back now._ "And you were right. I _do_ need to live a little."

Sirius eyes widened with shock, though it was hard to tell through his mask. He recovered quickly. "Well, there's an empty classroom with our name on it if you _really_ wish to live a little," he said, that old mischievous smirk creeping onto his face.

"Oh Black, you never cease, do you?" she asked through a smile.

Sirius let her into a dip. "Never."

Sirius couldn't remember what they talked about during the rest of the song. He was just so amazed that Hermione was there, dancing with him, talking with him, and even flirting with him a little (though elementary flirting, level two on the Marauder Scale). Sirius caught James's eye over Hermione's shoulder, and winked at him. James grinned discreetly so Lily wouldn't see and winked back. They were both dancing with the girls they fancied.

It wasn't long before the song ended and all the couples dancing departed, Lily one of the quickest. Hermione was about to say something to Sirius but was torn away by a frantic Lily.

"So, how was your dance?" Hermione asked Lily as they sat down at a table.

Lily glared at her smirking friend, but muttered in an embarrassed way, "It wasn't that bad."

"What was that? I didn't hear you," Hermione said with a grin.

"It wasn't that bad," Lily said louder, blushing.

"He wasn't trying to snog you or do anything inappropriate?"

"No…" Lily said, frustrated with herself. "He was a perfect gentleman, but that doesn't mean I'll go out with him!"

"I never said anything of the sort," Hermione said knowingly.

James was still standing at the spot where he had just danced. Sirius strolled over to his friend, both of them with dreamy grins on their faces.

"I just… danced with Lily Evans," James said in a faraway voice.

"Congratulations, mates," Peter said, pushing off the dance floor where a fast song was playing.

"Peter, she touched my hand," James said, looking at his hand.

"Yes, yes she did," Remus said as he walked back to the table with them. "Now stop acting like a pansy and pull yourself together!"

"I'm never washing this outfit," James grinned.

"She was so pretty…" Sirius said in a voice just like James's, speaking of Hermione. "Her hair…" He blinked and looked as if he had just realized something. "What am I saying? I'm acting like James!" He punched his Zorro twin on the shoulder. "Snap out of it, Prongs! Don't pass your stupidity onto me!"

"How about this, James?" Remus said. "Since you like her so much, why don't you go onstage and sing her a song?" he said in a clearly joking manner.

James looked at his friend, still with a dreamy-eyed look, but he seemed more focused with what was going on around him. "Hey, mate, that's not a bad idea." Remus groaned and shook his head.

"Hey mates," Harry said as he sat down next to James. "And I saw you dancing with Miss Evans."

"Actually, Thewler, you can help out with this too," James said excitedly. "Lean in now, this needs to be thought through…"

After the fast song was over, Harry, grinning like a maniac, ran to the stage where the band was playing. He jumped up and down, trying to get their attention. They band looked at the boy and signaled him upstage. Harry walked over to the main singer and whispered something to him. The band member nodded, listened, nodded once more and stepped off stage. Harry turned around to the music players and whispered so the audience couldn't hear, "Do you all know, er… 'From Me to You' by the Beatles?"

"Of course we do, mate," the keyboard player said. And a minute more of instructions and they were ready.

The Marauders made their way through the crowd to the stage. They all had silly grins on their face and were whispering excitedly to each other. On their way upstage, the main singer of the band handed Remus a tambourine and Peter a harmonica wishing them good luck.

Harry stepped up to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced as James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus walked onstage behind him. "Tonight we will have a special performance. I give you… the Marauders!"

Girls shrieked and boys gave out a wave of laughter and applause. The Slytherins at the ball just groaned and went on with their conversations.

Harry rushed offstage and over to Hermione and Lily. "C' mon, girls," he said as he put his arms around each of their shoulders. "I'm on a specific duty. Why don't we come closer to the stage…"

James and Sirius stepped up to the mic while Remus and Peter were on their sides. James yelled, "Hit it!" to the band.

The band played a single note before Sirius and James put their heads together and started to sing.

"Da da da da da dun dun da…," they sang with Peter playing the harmonica quite well, and Remus banging on the tambourine, both with crazy grins on. "Da da da da da dun dun da…" The two singers leaned apart.

"If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can doooo," they shook their heads as they hit the high note, Sirius's hair falling in and out of his face while James's just stuck up, "just call on me and I'll send it along, with love from me," they pointed to themselves, "to you!" they pointed to Hermione and Lily.

They paused, flashing a smile at the crowd. Girls in the front literally wilted. Hermione and Lily were trying to back away, fearing that someone might put two and two together and find out the song was for them, but failed dismally. Harry would not remove his arms from their shoulders.

"I got everything that you want, like a heart that's oh-so truuuue!"

Remus, yet again grinning, stopped playing the tambourine and just looked at it. His face fell from the stupidity of his friends. _How the heck did they convince me to play this?!_ He chucked it over his shoulder, narrowly missing the drummer.

He leaned in with everyone and sang, "Just call on me and I'll send it along, with love from me to you!

"…I've got arms that long to hold you," Sirius and James hugged each other, but looked at the other and broke apart abruptly, looking embarrassed, "and keep you by my side. I've got lips that long to kiss you," they blew a kiss at Lily and Hermione, "and keep you satisfied…" They leaned in, as did Remus and Peter, "Oooo!"

"If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can doooo, just call on me and I'll send it along, with love from me to you!"

Peter played a mini-solo and the girl he had slow-danced with looked proud to know him.

"From me," James, Sirius, and Remus sang. Peter played another few notes. "To you, just call on me and I'll send it along, with love from me to you!"

They repeated the first part again, winking once in a while to the two caught girls held by Harry. In the back of the hall stood the chaperones. McGonagall was rubbing her temples and shaking her head. Dumbledore was bopping his head to their singing, humming with them. Little Flitwick was dancing by himself beside Professor Smirch. She was the unhappiest of the lot, her piercing eyes glaring at the boys onstage.

"…If there's anything I can doooo, just call on me and I'll send it along, with love from me to you!" Peter echoed their singing with his harmonica. "To you!… To you!… To you! "

Sirius and James, smiling like they just got dates with Hermione and Lily, stepped away from the microphone. With Remus and Peter, they all bowed to the applause and shrieks sounding from the audience.

"Thank you!" Sirius yelled.

"We love you London!" James shouted. They started toward the stairs and all of his friends looked at him oddly. "What? I've always wanted to say that…"

"Great job, mates," the lead singer of the band said. He clapped Peter and James on the back. "Listen, have you mates ever thought about going professional? Just a thought…"

As they climbed down the mini set of stairs, Sirius said to his friends, "See, I told you that my band idea wasn't so stupid…"

"Brilliant singing guys," congratulated Harry as he made his way over to the Marauders.

"Where'd the girls go?" James asked, trying to look over the heads of the tall seventh years.

Remus laughed. "Thanks Harry. I'm glad you enjoyed our singing."

"Yeah yeah, but where _did_ they go?" James asked impatiently.

"Over there," Harry choked through his laugh. He pointed to one of the punch tables. James smirked and crept up behind Lily. From the view of the rest of the Marauders, he grabbed her shoulders and she gave a shriek. She flushed when she turned around to find James.

"Isn't that sweet, Padfoot?" Remus asked. Sirius didn't reply. "Sirius?" Remus turned around to find the other Zorro gone. "Oy…"

"Oh Remus," a fifth year girl said from behind him. She was quite pretty, but had that rebellious streak in her. Remus blushed. He recognized the girl by the brown straight hair with hidden black streaks in it.

"Yes Amanda?" he asked, his voice being a little higher than usual. Peter snickered and Harry grinned.

"You did really well up there…"

Sirius had no intentions of watching James make a fool of himself in front of Lily, and sneaked away to find Hermione. He found her waiting at the Marauder's table.

"Hey there," Sirius croaked. He cleared his throat to get rid of that stupid frog.

Hermione looked up to find Sirius sitting down next to her. "Hi… You did great up there. Who knew you had a singing voice."

"All of the upper classmen now, apparently," Sirius joked, glad his voice was smooth again.

"You didn't happen to sing that song for me, did you?" Hermione asked.

Sirius didn't like the tone of her voice but answered truthfully anyways. "The song was dedicated to Lily Evans and Hermione Snicket."

_This is not good, not good! _Hermione thought hastily. _But since it's already happened…_ She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. "Thanks. That was sweet."

Sirius stared at her. Sure, he had noticed her staring at him from time to time over the past month, but she had always avoided conversation with him at almost all costs. Now she had danced with him, and she just kissed him… What happened?!

"Hermione…" Sirius started.

"Hermione!" Harry called out, just entering the scene. Sirius grumbled something, sounding very frustrated. Hermione giggled but looked away form Sirius.

"Yes Harry?" she said politely.

"They're playing another slow song, dance with me?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Sure." Hermione took one last look at Sirius before leaving with Harry, who seemed to not have noticed anything.

"That was an interesting number the Marauders did, eh?" Harry asked. He laid a hand on Hermione waist instead of the girl doing that for him (the Yule Ball still tormented Harry) and started to spin slowly around.

"Yeah, I never expected they could sing," Hermione said truthfully.

"So I know why James asked for me to keep Lily from running off, but why did they ask for you too?" Harry asked seriously. When Hermione didn't answer, Harry answered himself. "It's because one of them still fancies you, isn't it?"

"That may be true," Hermione said, definitely not meeting his eyes.

"Hermione, you know what Dumbledore said about…"

"I know, Harry," Hermione interrupted. "I've got it under control."

Harry looked at Hermione. "All right, I believe you."

"You do?" Hermione asked, very surprised.

"Yes," Harry said with a nod. "You've always been the responsible one. You know what's right and what isn't. You've shown that over the years."

Hermione didn't know what to say. What would Harry do if he found out that she had just _kissed _Sirius Black? She didn't want to think about it.

"Did I ever tell you that you look beautiful in that dress?" Harry said.

Hermione looked up to his face to see him smiling. "Why thank you, Mr. Pirate."

"Arrr…" Harry growled. They laughed quietly.

"You know, this time seems to be treating you well," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"How so?"

"You just seem loads more happy. Almost like a regular teenage boy."

"Oh heaven forbid that Harry Potter acts his age," Harry whispered. Hermione giggled. "Well, I have a lot of reasons to feel happy," he said in a regular, but still quiet volume.

"Yes, it is really great to get away from our old lives and live in this fantasy world," Hermione said very softly.

Soon the song played its last note. "Well thanks for the dance, Harry," Hermione said, curtsying.

"Not at all, Hermione," Harry grinned, giving a bow. They walked back to the table. "Well, that was much more fun than the Yule Ball. God, that was awful!"

"How could you know?" Hermione asked. "You only danced once!"

"Well, I was preoccupied that night," Harry said uncomfortably. "Keeping Ron away from Krum so he wouldn't end up belching slugs again was harder than it seemed." Harry and Hermione laughed at the memory. "Hey James. Why so grumpy?"

James was sitting moodily at one of the far chairs at their table. He was glaring at Kyle McFly and Lily who had just parted from their dance. Sirius was looking quite interested at the floor stones. Remus, pink faced, strode over with his chest puffed out slightly from his dance with Amanda Carrick. Peter was sitting next to James.

"Lily just asked Kyle to dance," Peter said bluntly.

"Oh thanks Peter," James growled. "Let's just tell everybody without asking me first…"

"James, I've told you before, Lily won't just madly fall in love with you," Harry said as if talking to a child. "It takes time and patience, doesn't it?"

"Each girl is different, you see," Sirius said. "Some girls it takes two days, others two months," he gave Hermione a little wink, she blushed and turned away, "and some a year."

"Trust me," Hermione added. "She will like you. Heck, she's already warming up to you."

"Really?" James asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Hermione said weakly. "She, er, was dancing closer to you than she was to Kyle," she lied.

"What're you—" Sirius started, but silenced when Hermione gave him a glare. "Yeah, yeah she was!"

James brightened up, oblivious to the lie. He just noticed Remus's abnormally bright face. "What's up with you?"

"Oh, nothing," he said in a bashful sort of tone.

A disco-type song started to play. Dancing Queen from Abba.

"Come on!" James yelled. And the poor boy started to disco out on the dance floor.

"Oh well, if you can't beat him," Harry started.

"Join him!" Sirius finished. "You're coming too, Moony!" He grabbed his friend by the arm and dragged the complaining Remus with Peter trotting after them.

Hermione strolled over to Lily. "Did you really ask Kyle to dance?" she whispered in her ear.

Lily, who had just ended a talk with Kyle, turned around slowly, as if trying to delay their conversation. "Well, I'm sorry about what he did to you, but he is very handsome."

"So is James," Hermione countered.

"But Kyle's mature," Lily whined.

"Oh yeah, real mature," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. "Because I have never heard or seen James try to do anything like what Kyle tried did to a girl."

"You're right, but Kyle just seems… better, than James. Braver, sweeter, more caring."

Hermione guffawed. In one of the books she had read about Harry Potter before she went to Hogwarts, it had mentioned James and Lily Potter. It was those three things that Lily used to describe James and why she loved him: he was the bravest soul she had ever met, sweeter than any man, and cared for her more than anything. How could Lily's feelings change so drastically over one or two years?

"What?" Lily asked curiously.

"Nothing," Hermione said quickly, just realizing her guffaw was aloud and not in her head. "Let's dance!"

"All right, mates," the lead band guitarist said an hour or so later. "We're going to have one more slow song for you all. But this one's different. You've got to change partners every time one of us," he motioned towards the rest of the band members, "says the word Pumpkin Pasties. Ready?"

Hermione looked around for a boy to dance with. Sirius was conveniently standing right next to her.

"May I start this song with you?" Sirius asked.

"I'd love to," Hermione said, her eyes twinkling behind her midnight mask.

He, yet again, laid his hand on her hips and started to twirl.

"So why dress up as Zorro?" she asked.

Sirius's eyes darted up from below her neck. "Er, James and I always dress in matching outfits, and he knew someone at the store who could get us these costumes cheap."

"Always?" Hermione asked. "How many years have you gone? Isn't it only open to fifth years and above?"

"Well, since the Marauders are ever-so popular, we've been asked to come to the dance ever since our third year," Sirius explained, unable to fight down his grin.

"Dating upper classmen, wow… You do get around, don't you?" Hermione asked in a saddened tone.

"Well, we only hung around these fifth years so we could cause mayhem at the dance," Sirius explained quickly. "McGonagall even threatened to not let us go in our fourth year."

"Pumpkin Pasties!" the drummer said into the mic.

"Ta," Sirius said with a bow to Hermione. Hermione turned around just to be whisked away by another boy.

"Remus?" Hermione asked. She peered into the eye holes to see those brown and amber eyes.

"Well aren't we matching," Remus said with a smile.

Hermione looked down. He was right. They both wore Victorian blue outfits. "So we are," Hermione said, sounding amused.

"Having fun?" Remus asked, swirling Hermione around quickly.

"Loads," Hermione said breathlessly. Remus led her into a dip and pulled her back up quickly. "Wow, where did you learn how to dance?" she asked, sounding completely amazed.

"Everyone has a secret," Remus said noncommittally. "This is one of mine… You really think I'm good?"

"The best dancer I've ever met," Hermione said with a beaming smile. Remus smiled back.

"What are they doing?" Remus asked in a tired, yet entertained voice.

Off to their left, James and Sirius had been dancing together, but not at all to the beat. Actually, they had been _trying_ to swing dance. It just had to be the exact same time Professor Smirch was watching that area. Sirius spun James extra hard so that James uncontrollably collided into Smirch. Sirius, laughing his head off, helped James up while Snape helped Smirch off her feet.

"Watch what you're doing, Potter, Black. Be thankful that this is a dance or else it'd be points taken away." She glared and walked away. Snape mimicked Smirch and glared at James and Sirius.

"Watch yourself, Snivelly," Sirius murmured. "Wouldn't want to get in trouble in front of the headmaster.

Snape sniffed angrily and stormed away.

"Well that was interesting," commented Remus.

"Hm…" was all Hermione could say.

"Pumpkin Pasties!"

"It's been a pleasure," Remus said politely as he, too, bowed to Hermione. All she could do was smile before someone else grabbed her hand and twirled her around.

"May I cut in?" the boy asked

Hermione knew something was familiar about this boy, but couldn't put her finger on it, so she nodded yes. She saw out of the corner of her eye, Remus dancing with that fifth year and Sirius dancing with that seventh year Quidditch player. James yet again held hands with Lily, who looked a little put out that her last dance was to be with James Potter.

"You look beautiful tonight," he observed.

"And who is giving me this compliment?" Hermione asked courteously.

"Aw, don't remember me, Hermione?" he asked with a grin.

Those perfect teeth, that shiny red hair, those stunningly blue eyes…

Over a few meters were Sirius and Bridget dancing.

"So, have any luck with this new girl yet?" Bridget asked as Sirius drew closer to dance with her.

"Surprisingly yes," Sirius answered truthfully.

"Surprisingly?" Bridget questioned.

"Yeah, I didn't expect my little, er, _speech_ earlier today would have that powerful of an effect on her."

"Speech?" she echoed again.

"I sort of… told her to stop hiding behind her books and live a little," Sirius said quietly, concentrating on Bridget's left ear.

"Well, that's a new tactic for Sirius Black, insult the girl," Bridget laughed.

"Hey, to each his own," Sirius laughed with her.

"Hm…" she said as she looked over Sirius's shoulder.

"What?"

"Hermione is dancing with Kyle McFly."

"Kyle," Hermione said, but more like a growl than anything.

"Ah, there we go," he said happily. Hermione opened up her mouth, but he interrupted her. "Look, I never got to tell you how sorry I was for what happened at that Hogsmeade trip. It was completely wrong of me to act that way. I wasn't thinking straight at all…"

"And now you're seeking for an apology," Hermione guessed in a bored tone.

"If you can find it in your heart, yes. But I understand if you don't. I just want to be friends again," he said sincerely.

Hermione gazed at him, puzzled at why he waited a month to ask for forgiveness. But he did sound sincerely truthful. "Fine, but don't think we'll get back together."

"I don't want to, not to offend you, but I already have a girlfriend," Kyle said with a modest smile.

"No surprise there," she muttered.

"It just hurts when someone is mad at me when I really do feel sorry," Kyle continued, ignoring Hermione's quip.

"Well get used to it, because there are always going to be people who hate you," Hermione spat. This is what irked her, people who were so ignorant of the world outside their home.

"What do you—"

"Song's ended," Hermione said shortly. "Good night." And she left without another word. As she whipped away from Kyle, she rammed into someone. "Oh, Harry."

"Was that Kyle McFly you were dancing with?" he asked strictly.

"Yes, but he is still a jerk in my eyes," Hermione said truthfully.

Harry nodded. "All right. James and Peter wanted to stay a little while after. Would you like to stay with us?"

"Er… I'm really tired from all of this dancing," Hermione said. "I think I'll go to bed. See you tomorrow morning!"

"Yeah, good night!"

Hermione turned and walked through the departing crowds, finally reaching the doors. She sped out of the corridor and onto the stairs. As she slowed her pace right outside of the Fat Lady's portrait, she heard footsteps behind her, signalizing she was not alone.

"Are you all right, Hermione?" Remus asked.

"Of course," Hermione answered. She wasn't showing any signs of troubles brewing in her mind. Why was everyone asking her this?

"Oh, good… I just saw you with Kyle and wanted to make sure everything was okay," he said, blushing a little on the cheeks.

"Yes, Remus, I'm fine," she assured him with her sweet little smile. "But I am quite tired. Is it all right if I go to sleep now?"

"What? Oh, yes, sorry to deprive you of your sleep," he said graciously. He bowed, his personality never reflecting his costume more. "Good night, Hermione."

"Night," she yawned. He watched her step through the portrait before he walked towards the Fat Lady herself.

"Did you see where Hermione went?"

"She's going to bed, Sirius," Remus answered grumpily. "Boggarts," he said to the Fat Lady. She swung open her portrait again and the two Marauders stepped through.

"Isn't she amazing?" Sirius asked dreamily as he saw her brown locks disappear around the corner of the staircase at the back of the room.

"She really is," Remus agreed heavily.

Sirius looked stricken. "You don't… still like her, do you?"

"Why would you care?" Remus answered moodily. He strode across the common room, taking larger than normal steps. He really wasn't in the mood to talk to Sirius.

"Because I don't want you to get your hopes up," Sirius said as he quickly followed Remus up the back stairs.

"Get my hopes up?" Remus repeated, outraged. He tore open the door to their dormitory.

"Yeah," Sirius said simply as he marched straight past his friend into their room.

Remus slammed the door behind his friend. "Meaning?"

"Well," Sirius said, a little less calmly than before, "she apparently doesn't go for your type." He gently untied his mask and laid it on his nightstand table.

"What the hell do you mean about that?" Remus growled. He just pulled the mask off over the top of his head.

"Meaning that she goes for people like me," Sirius said aggressively. He untied his cape from around his neck.

Remus gave a hollow, mirthless laugh. "You? What makes you say she likes you that way?" He ripped off his jacket and tossed it powerfully into his trunk.

"She danced with me twice, she even kissed me!" Sirius cried out.

"She did?" Remus said in a hollow voice.

"Yes, she did, right after I sang her that song. She obviously likes the people who go to great lengths for her!" He sat down on his bed to take off his boots.

Remus let out a loud, thunderous growl. "Aaarrrggg!!! Why can you ever let me have what I care for and really want?! It's always about you! I could have had a chance with 'Mione, but Mr. Popular Sirius Black has to make the oh-so cool moves and take her away from someone she might actually like without the influence of 'stunning looks' and cheesy pickup lines!" Remus, too, slammed his bottom on his bed and violently took off his shoes and chucked them in his trunk.

"She wouldn't have gone with you," Sirius said, pronouncing each word loudly and slowly. "She may be your friend, but she will never like you the way she will like me."

"See, you force it onto girls and they fall for you!" Remus yelled, letting every detail about Sirius he hated flow out of him. "You play them! You use them to get your snogs in and then you dump them! It's been the same way ever since you knew girls didn't actually have cooties!"

"Remus Jonathan Lupin," Sirius growled, in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt. "How dare you suspect me of cheating on this girl. Hermione is different from every other girl I have ever met. You know this, you can feel it."

"So why can't you ever let the nice guy who finally finds the perfect, non-sluttly girl have her?" Remus said in a low, angered voice. He rapidly unbuttoned his shirt so he had on a blank white t-shirt.

"Because she won't like you as much as me." Remus glared bloody swords at his friend, never feeling more rage targeted at any Marauder before. "Face it, I'll give her so much more."

"Yeah, your bed," Remus muttered loudly.

"No, I don't plan to shag her any time soon!" Sirius yelled again. "This is the girl I could spend time talking to, just sitting by the fireplace, not snogging or anything like that."

"Yeah, and you'll last five minutes before you start to take off her shirt."

"Will you look past my stereotype and listen to what I'm actually saying?!"

"Lily actually said good night to me!" cried out James as he burst through the door. He stopped at the scene before him, leading to Harry crashing into him. They had heard yells coming from the dormitory, but James or Harry didn't expect this setting. Remus was glaring so angrily at Sirius it was frightening. Sirius was gripping his wand so tightly that his knuckles were a pearly-white.

"What's happened here?" Peter said, hopping up and down to look over James and Harry's shoulders.

"Nothing," Sirius said quickly. "Remus and I were just… talking."

"About what?" James asked, cautiously entering the room, his eyes wide and alert like a deer's.

"I'm really tired," Remus said wearily.

"Me too," Sirius said.

"Er, good night then," James said uncertainly.

Remus and Sirius cast each other one final death glare before disappearing behind their bed curtains.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Peter asked the two "twins". James knew exactly what had happened. Remus and Sirius had a row about one certain new girl. Harry had an idea, but tried to push it out of his brain. It was too mind-boggling to even think about the feelings his old professor and godfather might have for his old girlfriend.

"Who knows," was all James said before he started to untie his cape and changed into his pajamas.

_Bastard_, growled the minds of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, thinking only of the other.

A/N: Phew, that was a loooong chapter. So? What do you think? Realistic enough? Good enough? Can you review?

I hate to say it, but I will be striped of the computer and the internet for this entire week, so I will not be able to update. But that doesn't mean I won't write! But it takes longer the old fashioned way… sorry!

And for those who are thinking, why have Lily and James starting to tolerate each other two months into their sixth year? Well, I always pictured them becoming friends by the end of their sixth year, and then they finally date in the beginning of their seventh year.

My reviewers:

**Madisonfairie**- You know, I have never heard of the band called Slytherin. Interesting… And I know the full moons are hard to fit in. But they will play a part in my story! Thanks!

**Blondekat3**- well, Sirius got those images in his dreams partially because of the presence of Harry and Hermione. But sometimes in the wizarding world, a sort of vision can come in a dream… Thanks! And yes, Sirius can be a blind idiot quite a lot.

**Padfootz-luvr**- Er, yeah. Bridget Bell is Katie Bell's aunt. Thanks!

**Dawn1**- Ahh, what I have in store for the future. A very scary thing. And I'm sorry about leaving you hanging there. I hope I made a quick update. But I'm going to apologize in advance for not updating this coming week!

**DoodlerGirl**- Yeah, I just love the band idea too. I'm trying to get someone to draw me a picture of it, but no such luck yet. I'd pin it to my wall if it was good enough! Thanks!

**Sapphire66**- Eek! I know I hate it when others leave me hanging, but I see why they do that. Cliff hangers are the best! Thanks.

**RAne2920072**- Eep! You really love it? Aw, you're awesome!! Thanks!

**Pieceocake**- Bloody hell! I'm getting there! And Harry isn't a big part of this story, okay? Remember what I said at the very beginning of writing this story? I don't like writing about Harry. He's not as cool as the Marauders.

**Jessa1234**- Really? I'm one of the best ones? Thanks! And yes, don't' we all love Sirius? He's just perfect!

**Jack**- Of course I'm writing more! I can't stop! I'm addicted. Thanks!

**BlackAngel1391**- Exactly what I was thinking. More conflict between Remus and Sirius. Great minds think alike! (I just think it was kind of funny that as soon as I type these last words, I get your review asking for more conflict. Hee hee hee… eh heh. Apparently only funny to me…) Thanks!


	14. Chapter 14: Verifying

**Chapter 14: Verifying**

_Back in the Future…_

"Finally, the last tidbit we need to discuss is, of course, Harry Potter." Professor Dumbledore stood up from his spot at the head of the table in the meeting room at Grimmauld Place. Professor Snape's lips tightened and his back stiffened, but he made no other signs of hate.

"Yes, Albus," spoke up Emmeline Vance with her emerald-green shawl, "you never mentioned what you told the press and Hogwarts of the whereabouts of him and Hermione Granger."

Tonks interrupted with a thought that had been bothering her for awhile. "And why not make this so much simpler and get a Life-Alter, which _wouldn't_ break down, and travel back in time to the 1970s and bring them back?"

"The Ministry of Magic will be keeping a very close tab on the time-travelers," Dumbledore explained calmly. "And the information about Mr. Potter's true whereabouts, in the wrong hands, could be disastrous." Tonks bobbed her head in understanding. Dumbledore smiled and turned to Emmeline Vance.

"I have told everyone, that because of recent events, Harry Potter is away from Hogwarts, learning the magic arts somewhere else, for the safety of our school and himself. Where he is exactly is known to very few and will stay that way. Due to some more personal events, Hermione Granger is with him. As of the time we will see them again, it will depend on how things go in the, er… _future_." He looked around at the Order's members with his twinkling, crystal-blue eyes. "And if you have no more questions, then we are free to go." Everyone shook their heads or murmured a quite no. "All right. The meeting's over. I will see you all very soon."

Snape grabbed his papers, threw Remus Lupin a dirty, hate-filled glare across the table, and was the first to disapparate out of the room. A few of the Order members noticed the tension Snape created and had to chuckle, but all followed suit in their departure. A bunch of disapparating _pops!_ sounded off.

Remus stuffed his papers in his old suitcase, which seemed to be growing more tattered by the hour, but he didn't leave right away. Instead, he strolled over to the head of the table. He waited for everyone to leave before speaking to the headmaster.

"Er, Professor Dumbledore?" he started but Dumbledore held out a hand.

"I've told you before Remus," the headmaster interrupted, "you _can_ call me Albus now."

"Yes, Pr—Albus." Dumbledore smiled. "But I wanted to ask you…" Remus trailed off.

"Yes?" Dumbledore encouraged.

"Whatever happened to the annual Masquerade Balls at Hogwarts?" Remus dared to ask.

"Now how did that question come up in your mind?"

Remus looked slightly embarrassed. He didn't look directly at Dumbledore but over the headmaster's shoulder. Remus stared intently at a portrait, seeming interested at the fact that it was snoring. "Well…" He shuffled his feet like a little kid. "I've gotten new, more er… _unforgettable _memories from my sixth year Masquerade Ball that weren't there before."

"Such as?" Dumbledore said.

"Well… Sirius and I had gotten in a fight that night," Remus said uncomfortably.

"About what?" Dumbledore sat down in his chair again. Remus quickly sat down next to him.

"Well sir, it was over, er… Hermione," Remus answered, never feeling more uncomfortable in his life. Dumbledore continued to look placid and signaled for a continuation. "This isn't the best of news but… IthinkwebothhadfeelingsforHermioneduringoursixthyear," Remus slurred in one, incoherent breath.

"Come again?" Dumbledore said politely.

"Well, S—Sirius… and I—I," Remus stuttered, "during the time Harry and Hermione are in right now… we both sort of fancied Hermione." Remus refused to look Dumbledore straight in the eye.

"I see…" Dumbledore mumbled. He stared at his half full water glass for a few moments. The silence was driving Remus mad. Thankfully, the headmaster spoke again. "You said that you and Mr. Black got into a fight?"

"Verbal, yes," Remus stated.

"So this would mean that you spoke your mind against one of your closest friends." Dumbledore spoke as if it were a statement.

"Yes," Remus said slowly, not knowing where this was leading to.

"And if I remember correctly," Dumbledore continued, "you never really spoke out against your friends before, did you?"

"I suppose not," Remus said, now just thinking about it.

"Do you see where this is going?" Dumbledore asked. Remus shook his head. "Harry and Hermione are indeed changing the future by just being there with you. They have changed the way you think, act, and feel." He paused to let Remus think in peace for a moment. "Now I want you to answer me truthfully. Did Miss Granger return any of this… affection you and Sirius held?"

Remus shifted in his seat. He had to tell Dumbledore everything but didn't want to sound too much like a little nancy boy. "Well, she _did_ dance with me and Sirius Halloween… And Sirius said she kissed him after he sang her a song, but Sirius always used to exaggerate the truth…"

"But we don't know that for sure," Dumbledore said, mostly to himself. "Anything else?"

"Well sir, I don't know exactly how she would act around a boy she likes, so I don't know," he managed to say without blushing.

"This is quite a serious issue. Miss Granger, as I told her in the past, cannot hold any emotions for others and vice versa."

"Then I suppose we should find out how she acts around boys?" Remus asked, fretful of the answer coming.

"Yes, indeed. And there's one boy who would know, I think."

"No I don't know where Harry is," growled Ron Weasley. "For the last time, go away!" He quickened his pace across the grassy hill that led him back to the Hogwarts castle and away from Rita Skeeter. He strongly wished that everyone would stop asking the same questions over and over again, and Rita Skeeter was _not_ helping the least bit.

"Do you know why Hermione Granger accompanied him?" she asked, whipping out her Quick-Quotes Quill and a pad of paper.

"No," Ron answered angrily again, raising his voice another notch.

"A love interest, perhaps? Is that why you aren't with them? They didn't want you to feel left out?" Rita asked again. Her Quick-Quotes Quill zoomed across her notebook.

"_Bugger_ off, Skeeter," Ron growled as he rounded on her, emphasizing the first word. "Don't forget that I know your secret and I can spill it any time I feel like it." He spun on his heal and walked away, feeling proud of himself for Rita did not follow him.

"Having a nice, friendly chat with Skeeter, Weasel?" drawled the voice of Draco Malfoy from behind Ron.

"_Impedimenta!_" Ron shouted gleefully as he shot his wand over his shoulder. As he heard a thud, signaling his jinx had hit its desired target, Ron quickly turned around and shouted, "_Immobulus__!_" as Crabbe and Goyle advanced on him. The two troll-wannabes froze in mid strike. "You don't know how long I've waited to do that, Malfoy," Ron spat as he strolled towards the three immobile Slytherins.

"Yeah, with Potty and Granger here, they always kept you in check," goaded Malfoy from his uncomfortable position on the dewy grass. "Or was it just Granger?" Ron's ears started to glow a very faint pink. "Doesn't it irk you that Potter, once again, beat you?"

"What do you mean by that?" Ron growled.

"Think about it, Weasel," drawled Malfoy again. He tried to sit up in vain but Ron had Malfoy lying quite still on the ground. All Malfoy could do was lift his head to look at Ron. "What do you think Potty and Granger are doing, now that you're out of their way?"

Ron's blush traveled from his ears to his face and all the way up to the roots of his hair. He searched in his head for the best jinx and threw his wand hand up so his wand pointed straight at Malfoy who was still sprawled on the grassy floor.

Malfoy was flipped over by the green jet of light that rushed at him. He was now sitting on his buttocks, holding his stomach. All of a sudden, he lurched forward and his hands left his stomach to cover his mouth.

"What's a matter, Malfoy?" Ron teased. "Slug got your tongue?"

Malfoy's cold eyes, filled with hate, shot up towards Ron and was about to cuss him out if it wasn't for the slime choking him inside his mouth. The Slytherin couldn't hold it in any longer. He lurched forward, spewing slugs everywhere in front of him.

"If I were you, I wouldn't have dared to show my face at this school ever again." Ron's eyes glowed with hatred as he stared down at the belching Malfoy. "Everyone knows about your beloved father. Why you haven't been locked away yet, I'll never understand. It's filth like you that ruin this school." _Bloody hell, I've been wanting to say forever!_ Ron thought excitedly.

Malfoy opened his mouth to spit back an awful retort but ended up spitting slugs. Once the new wave of slugs passed, he opened his mouth to speak, but he looked over Ron's shoulder. His skin paled, his eyes narrowed, but he clamped his mouth shut once again.

Ron noticed Malfoy's hatred had transferred to something behind him. The young Weasley turned around to come face to face with the headmaster.

"Pr—Professor Dumbledore," Ron said weakly. He glanced over Dumbledore's shoulder. "Pr—er, Lupin," Ron added.

"Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said with a smile. He, too, glanced over Ron's shoulder. "Mr. Malfoy, what a mess you seem to be in." All Malfoy could do was glare and spit a few slugs out of his mouth. Remus grimaced and clutched his own throat, too disgusted to add a comment. "As I do not know how this came to be, not one of you four will be punished," Dumbledore said quietly, his eyes flickering over to Crabbe and Goyle who were still frozen. He flicked his wands towards the two thugs and they fell forward. They shot up suddenly and in an instant they were at Malfoy's side. "If you two would be so kind as to escort Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing. I'm afraid I cannot help much in this case. Madam Pomfrey would be the best to cure you, Draco." Crabbe and Goyle grabbed Malfoy's upper arms and hoisted him onto his feet. They walked away without another word.

After the regurgitating sound died away, Dumbledore turned back to Ron. "Ron, will you join us in my office? I would like a word with you." Dumbledore smiled but turned around quickly. Remus walked ahead of them all, keeping rather quiet. Ron looked confused but trotted after them.

"If it is about what just happened with Malfoy, sir, I just want to say that I didn't do it," Ron said instantly. Dumbledore looked over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows as they walked into the castle. "His spell backfired?" Ron said in a mouse-like voice.

"Indeed," Dumbledore said with the same smile he had on before. "But your incident with Mr. Malfoy is not what I needed to talk to you about."

They walked in silence, giving Ron to time to think of what he did wrong now. He had been the good prefect so far. All right, so there are the visits to the kitchens, hexing Malfoy, forgetting to do his homework now and then, and letting kids get away with late curfews and harmful pranks (towards Slytherins), but other than those _few_ incidences, Ron Weasley had been a very good student.

"Is it about Harry and Hermione?" Ron asked suddenly. The thought had just entered his mind as they neared the gargoyle.

"Fainting Fancies," Dumbledore said. The gargoyle jumped aside and they strode past it to the staircases.

"You named your password after my brothers' Skiving Snackboxes?" Ron asked, barely believing Dumbledore.

"They are quite brilliant, those boys," the headmaster said, his eyes twinkling brightly.

Ron stared at him in admiration as he followed the two adults into the office.

"Have a seat," Dumbledore said as he drew up a chair in midair.

Ron hurriedly sat down in the plush blue chair as Dumbledore drew a chair for Remus. Ron glanced at Remus, giving a look that plainly said "Why are you here?" but Ron did not ask. He just looked back at Dumbledore. "Is it about Harry and Hermione?" he repeated.

Dumbledore nodded.

"What happened?" Ron said, oblivious to Dumbledore's open mouth. "Did something happen? Is it bad?" He looked wildly back and forth between Dumbledore and Remus.

Once Ron stopped hyperventilating, Dumbledore spoke up. "Nothing bad has happened… so far." The headmaster's eyes flashed over to Remus. "We just want to make sure that something does not rise up in the past. Remus," Dumbledore said, switching the conversation over to the other adult.

Remus's eyes grew a little wider. Dumbledore wanted _him_ to ask Ron. "Er, Ron…" Remus started. He never imagined how awkward this would be. "We need to know… how, er, your friends would act around someone they, er, fancy," Remus asked. He didn't specifically mention Hermione's name and he wouldn't unless it was needed.

Ron, once again, looked between the headmaster and his old professor. "What's all this about?"

"Well, Ron," Remus said after he got the confirmation from Dumbledore through a head nod, "Harry and Hermione have indeed started to change the future."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "But nothing has changed," Ron stated bluntly.

"Nothing that's too noticeable yet," corrected Remus.

"All right, nothing yet has changed," Ron said impatiently. "But why do you need to know how Harry and Hermione act?"

Remus stayed silent. To him, it was odd to fancy your past student. But to tell another of this crush, let alone a student, was way past the realm of comfort.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, knocking Remus out of his thoughts and into answering Ron's question.

"Eh heh, right," Remus coughed nervously. He fuddled with the hem of his greying robe.  "We need to know… _that_ because we need to, er, verify something." Remus seemed content with his answer, but Ron, however, did not.

"Verify something?" Ron repeated. "Verify what?" If he was given the opportunity to ask as many questions as he wished, he would absolutely take advantage of it.

"Er, bad things can happen while time-traveling if the traveler becomes fond of one who lives in the time that's not theirs," Remus said uneasily. "Possibly even worse, it's bad for someone back then to become very fond of the time-traveler."

"Are you saying someone fancies Harry back in his parents' time?" Ron asked excitedly. He chuckled at the thought. He suddenly stopped and sat up straight. "But that's not good! You see, he'll need to talk to me and Hermione about this! I'll be the supportive friend and Hermione will be all wise and smart about things. It's the way things have to go!"

"Ron," Remus interrupted sharply, "calm down… No one likes Harry in that sort of way," he finished reassuringly.

"Oh." Ron slumped back in his chair. "Okay, then what's all this about?"

"Well, Ron, I said that no one likes Harry like that. I didn't include Hermione for a reason."

Ron's back straightened again. "Who? Is it someone we know?" He looked wildly around the room as if trying to spot him right then and there.

"Er, yes, someone you know," Remus said weakly.

"Who is it then?"

Remus looked to Dumbledore for support. The headmaster was sitting back in his chair, watching Remus trying to explain to Ron like a tennis match. Remus sighed and looked back at the Hogwarts student. "Two people, actually, fancied Hermione, along with Harry."

"Harry liked her?!" Ron shouted.

"You didn't know?" Remus said meekly, shrinking in his chair an inch. If Ron was overreacting about Harry, how would he take the information Remus was about to give him?

"But we're not supposed to—he knew that I—but he didn't," ranted Ron. He continued to shout, never stringing his words into complete sentences.

Remus sighed, rolled his eyes over to the headmaster. Dumbledore just smiled and nodded back to Ron.

"He even knew that I—I actually don't—but still—"

"Sirius Black and myself both liked Hermione Snicket in our sixth year," Remus interrupted, his loud voice overpowering Ron's quite ranting voice.

Ron stopped in mid sentence (again) and stared open-mouthed at Remus. He then glanced at Dumbledore, to seek reassurance that it wasn't a joke, and turned back to Remus, who avoided eye contact with both occupants of the room.

"_Bloody hell_," he breathed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I assure you, we're not. Now we need to make sure she doesn't have any of the feeling for us," Remus rushed, a bite of impatience now in his words.

"You're bloody eighteen years older than her!" Ron said, short of shouting. "She's not that thick to fall for someone twice her age! You know she's smarter than that."

"Yes, I know," Remus said in a partial dreamy voice. Ron looked disgusted. "But she's still a teenage girl who could fall for anyone who says the right words," he said sharply.

Ron gave a tiny snort. "So you were Hogwarts' James Bond, were you?"

"Oh no," Remus said quickly. "But Sirius could make any girl fall for him with a flip of that perfect, bloody hair of his," he growled. Ron looked at his past professor, shocked by his behavior. Remus just realized the headmaster was still with them. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, we just don't want Harry or Hermione to, er, see anyone during their stay, hence why we need to make sure Hermione doesn't like Sirius… or myself."

Ron stared a little more at Remus. Soon after he shook his head, muttered something under his breath, but all the same, readied himself. "Well, I don't know much of Hermione's, er, romantic life, but for some _odd_ reason, she falls for the popular ones." Remus and Dumbledore exchanged a glance. "But not the one's that bask in the attention. They tend to sulk and brood in the corner of a library. They also think _Oh poor me! I'm a rich, famous Quidditch player. It's such a heavy burden. I make younger women attracted to me by walking around on my duck feet and glaring at everyone around me. Oh woe is me—_" Ron stopped, remembering he wasn't talking to Harry but the headmaster of his school and an adult he respected rather a lot. "Sorry, personal issues… Anyways, she doesn't like to flaunt her relationships, does she? She hid Krum away as long as possible, she hid Harry," he spat with more venom than wise around his particular company.

"So what you're saying," Remus interrupted, growing rather tired of Ron's rants, "is that she keeps her true feelings a secret?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Ron agreed. "Though she _did_ tell Ginny about Krum, probably about Harry, too," he said miserably.

The front door to Dumbledore's office suddenly banged open.

"Look! I didn't steal anything from your office, Mr. Filch!" a girl with fiery-red hair shouted.

"A likely story, little missy," Mr. Filch hissed to a girl he had by the arm. He turned to Dumbledore. "I saw this girl with some items that had clearly been confiscated and stored away in my office," he told the headmaster.

"I did not _steal_ anything!"

"It's all right, Argus," Dumbledore said calmly. "I wished to talk to Miss Weasley anyway." Ginny smirked and pulled her arm out of Filch's grasp.

"But what about my office?" Filch whined.

"We will deal with that later. As you can see, I'm in the middle of something rather important. Leave Ginny and I will attend your matters later," Dumbledore said kindly.

Filch's shoulders sunk with disappointment. He glared at Ginny one last time and exited the room. Ginny just stood where she was before, looking rather anxious now.

"Please have a seat. Remus," Dumbledore said.

"Oh, right." Remus pulled out his wand and drew up a chair for the youngest Weasley. A elegant purple chair fell a few inches onto the ground. In a few strides, Ginny had crossed the room and now sat down in the chair between Remus and Ron. Her leg jiggled with nervousness.

"What's going on, Professor?" she asked Dumbledore.

"Well, we were just having a discussion about Harry and Hermione," Remus started.

Ron groaned.

Ginny cast her brother a sideways look. "What about them? Is something wrong?" She, just like her brother, looked back and forth between the headmaster and the old Defense teacher.

"Something could get wrong," Remus said. Ginny gave him a confused look. "Well, you see, when time-traveling, you're not supposed to fall for anyone in the past, and no one in the past is supposed to grow fond of the time-traveler."

"Oh, so someone fancies Harry or Hermione in the past and you want to make sure they feel the same way about them?" Ginny guessed.

Remus and Ron raised their eyebrows. Dumbledore just chuckled to himself.

"How did you know?" Ron asked loudly.

"Just a guess," Ginny stated simply. "And I'll go a bit further. You," she said, turning back to Remus, "probably fell for Hermione in your, was it your sixth year?" Remus nodded. "Am I right?"

"How did you guess that?" Ron asked in awe.

"Why else would Lupin be here, talking about time-traveling rules?" Ginny asked calmly. "Especially ones about, er, _feelings_… And I just supposed that it wasn't Harry you fancied back then, correct?"

"Thankfully, yes," Remus said.

"But aren't you grossed out that our friend could fall for someone eighteen years older than her?" Ron asked, starting to hyperventilate again. "Not to mention dead," he added.

Ginny had opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Ron said the word 'dead'. She looked sharply at him. "What do you mean, 'dead'?"

"Oh yeah, it's not just Lupin, it's also Sirius that fancies Hermione!" Ron said. He gave a laugh, but not a laugh that said "Oh that's a good joke", but an "Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening" sort of laugh.

"Really? Wow, she _does _get around, doesn't she?" Ginny muttered so no one could hear.

"What was that?" Ron asked harshly.

"Oh, nothing," Ginny said.

"Back to the original topic," interrupted Remus strictly, "Ron said that Hermione has told you of her, er, past crushes."

"Yes," Ginny said slowly.

"Well, we need to find out how she would act towards a boy she likes," Remus said uneasily.

"You mean you can't figure it out for yourself?" Ginny asked.

"Well… no, not really," Remus said, definitely feeling stupid at this point.

"All right, I'll tell you all I know, but it isn't much," Ginny said, trying very hard not to sound exasperated. And so Ginny went on about how Hermione didn't flaunt her relationships very much, tended to keep things respectable. The most she would do is hold their hand or give them a quick peck on the cheek. Ginny finished it off with saying, "She never really got the boyfriend thing down yet, so if she really falls for, er… you or Sirius, it'd be different."

Dumbledore sighed. Remus sighed too but said, "Thanks anyway, Ginny."

"Not at all," she said cheerfully. They all sat there, deep inside their own thoughts. "Sir," Ginny said uncertainly to Dumbledore, but left it open to Remus too. "What would happen if Hermione actually _did_ fall for someone in the past?"

Dumbledore did not answer straight away but gazed at Remus with unfocused eyes. "If she grew to love someone back then, she might never want to leave," he said simply at long last.

Ron groaned and let his head drop over the back of the chair.

"Can we do anything to stop that from happening?" Ginny asked.

"I'm afraid we can't," Dumbledore said. Remus looked at the headmaster. "That is, unless things get too out of control there. If anything bad would happen to Harry or Hermione, emotional or physical, we would have to risk the Ministry hearing about it and time-travel back to the 70s."

Ginny nodded. "Er, is that all, Professor Dumbledore?" she asked, ending the long silence.

"Yes, I do believe you and Ron here have class to attend?" the headmaster said, smiling.

"Yes, sir," Ginny said.

The two Weasleys stood up as one and walked towards the door. As Ginny put her hand on the doorknob, Ron turned around and looked at Lupin.

"You—still don't like Hermione, do you?" he asked uncertainly.

"What?" Remus said. He had not been expecting anyone to ask him _that_. "Oh, of course not," he said quickly. Ron and Ginny nodded and exited the headmaster's office quickly. Remus turned back to Dumbledore to find his eyebrows raised in doubt. "What? I don't," Remus said, even more unconvincing than before. Remus sagged his shoulders away from Dumbledore's penetrating stare; he could never get rid of the feeling that Dumbledore always knew what one was thinking, even if one said aloud the exact opposite.

A/N: Eek! I'm so sorry for not updating quickly! I was gone away from the internet for a little longer than planned… And also, sorry for the shortness of this chapter.

I don't really like this chapter much. It's easier to write the Marauders because there aren't five books written about them, explaining exactly how they act. But that's not the case for Ron, Draco, and Ginny so… I'm sorry if anyone was out of character.

My Reviewers:

**Gwuinivyre****: **The word spiffy, it's just the greatest, isn't it?! Yeah, I really do feel bad for Remus…

**Khuu-khuu****: **Really? One of the best? Awesome! Thanks!

**Dawn1:** Exactly how I feel! I feel so bad for Remus, but I'm still rooting for Sirius…

**Blondekat3:** I'd have to agree with you, this is one of my favorite chapters too. Actually, it's a tie between this one and the one where they all got drunk… I'm sorry I couldn't write this death match you speak of. It sounds… interesting.

**Madisonfairie****:** Thanks!

**DracosPrincess16: **Ah, but that's the thing. The Marauders act like brothers. But remember, brothers fight. Thanks!

**Gabrielle Madden-Lovato:** Yeah, Sirius _is_ kind of ignorant. Thanks!

**SlytherinPnay****: **Really? Hermione is marysue-ish? Hm… well, she has to be in these type of stories. There is no way in the real Harry Potter that Hermione would fall for Sirius _or_ Remus. So, yeah… Thanks.

**Luna-Lovegood200: **Thanks!

**Soyamonkey****: **Thanks!

**TheYellowDart22: **Thanks!

**Eman****: **Everyone is asking that. It is categorized as a HGSB story! That gives it away! Thanks.

**Lovablechick213**: Kyle and Lily, dating? Oh no. No no no, she wouldn't do that. And anyways, Kyle needs someone a bit more sluttly than her… And it said (in chapter 14) '_This is not good, not good! _Hermione thought hastily. _But since it's already happened…_ She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. "Thanks. That was sweet."' So, that's the kiss Sirius was talking about to Remus. Yep yep. Thanks!

**Shloki****: **I have good ideas? Really!? Eek, that's so cool… Good idea, but I already have something good in mind. But I appreciate your input! Thanks!

**Shelby H:** Thanks. And I really have no clue of how many chapters there will be. I'm just writing off the top of my head, really. And it kind of gets confusing up there…

**DoodlerGirl****: **Thanks! I say that to my friends all the time, "Have at thee!" and I think they've gotten used to it by now. Thanks!

**Orenji****:** Thanks. And Harry and Hermione WILL travel back to the future (hee hee, Back To The Future, the movie… never mind).

**Iluvsiriusblacksnufflespa: **Thanks!

**The 100 original BLAH: **Thanks! And part of me really does want to make Hermione end up with Remus, but alas, I have already thought of the ending.

**Niphredel**** Black: **Thanks, and yes, Kyle is a jerk and will always be a jerk.

**Pieceocake****:** Thanks!

**MasteroftheFlame****: **Jeez, took you long enough! Lazy git… (to anyone else who is reading this, I know this person.) And the band idea was all yours. It was really cool! And yes, the Marauders sang. I loved that part. GO BEATLES!! Remus WILL NOT kill Sirius, so don't get your hopes up you evil Sirius-hater. shifty eyes SO what if the 'Pumpkin Pasties' is like 'Snowball'…

**Lilith****: **Ahh… but that's the thing. Sirius and Remus never felt this strongly for a girl during their sixth year before. Hermione is INDEED changing the future. Remus started to stand up against his friends! But don't worry, Remus and Sirius won't be in a fight for too long… They will realize they were both idiots (just like Harry and Ron did in GoF) and make up again.

**El-CaPiTaNo: **Ah ha! I was hoping that someone would say that! Margret Finnigan is NOT related to Seamus. It's kind of like JKR and Mark Evans. They both just have the same last name. I, personally, just love the last name Finnigan and had to put it in my story. And also, JKR has said herself that James _was indeed_ a chaser. Don't get the movies and the books mixed up! Thanks!

**Roxxie****-Hart: **Thanks. I have read a lot of HGSB ones out there and Hermione is definitely portrayed out of character. And yes, the Beatles ROCK!

**moonkid3734: **Thanks!

**Flaignhan: **Yes, Lord of the Rings, the Series of Unfortunate Events, I just love putting names and/or quotes from other stories (that I love) into my own. It's so much fun! And it's funny to see my reviewers point them out. Thanks!

I have half a heart to change this into a HGRL story, but I'll stick with Sirius. But I feel so bad for the werewolf! I'm thinking maybe I should start another HP story. A duel romance one, time-traveling, of course. But it could be HGRL and GWSB… what do you think?


	15. Chapter 15: What I Truly Feel Inside

**Chapter 15: What I Truly Feel Inside**

Remus woke up early the next day to find everyone in his dormitory still asleep… including Sirius.

Sirius. The name echoed through Remus's head. How could he steal this perfect girl that Remus had finally found? How could he betray a fellow Marauder? It's almost as bad as Remus, Sirius, or Peter going out with Lily… not that Remus would mind doing just that… But he knew better! Anyway, Hermione could even relate to Remus, partially.

Hermione. That name rang through Remus's mind too. Why couldn't she just ignore Sirius? Why did she kiss him (if Sirius was really telling the truth)? Couldn't she see that Sirius was a player? Couldn't she see that he, Remus, really liked her?

_She obviously likes the people who go to great lengths for her!_ Sirius had said those exact words the previous night. Maybe Remus should act on his feelings. Spend more time with her, instead of being the timid little Marauder he had always been… But that would be stooping down to Sirius's level.

Remus gave a frustrated snort, loud enough to wake up Harry and James. He heard them groan from tiredness. Remus ignored them and left his bed to get changed. From the slamming of drawers and trunks, the entire dormitory was awake by the time Remus turned to leave, including Sirius…

"Good morning, mate," James said cheerfully to Remus, finally out of his bed.

Remus replied with nothing but a nod. He strode out of the room the moment Sirius's bed curtains started to open.

James sighed and turned towards Sirius, who had just climbed out of his bed with a scowl on his face.

"Are you going to tell us what happened last night?" James asked edgily.

Sirius said nothing but scratched his head. He left the room to use the bathroom. James hurriedly followed after him.

"Well?" James pried again. When Sirius scowled some more at him, James made a guess himself. "Was it about Hermione?"

"Why do you care?" Sirius asked with irritation ringing through his words. Sirius banged open the bathroom door with an open palm. James walked speedily after him.

"Because I'm here for you, Padfoot," James reminded him. Sirius looked at James, his scowl less pronounce. "Now, care to share your side of the story?"

Sirius scooped up some water from the sink and splashed it on his face. After he dried his face off, he replied. "He likes her," he stated bluntly, feeling no need to articulate. "And he can't stand the fact that I might actually get to her first." James said nothing and let his friend continue. Sirius just sighed heavily. "You know I have a reputation, right?"

"Of course I do. I helped send out some of the rumors," James said with a smile, one that Sirius did not return.

"Well, I understand others actually believing in it," he said slowly. "But I expected you three, the Marauders, to look past it and believe me when I say otherwise."

"But see, Padfoot, those rumors that built up your reputation have started to become the truth," James said quietly, not looking at Sirius but at the sink. "You do tend to use girls. Even while dating Bell you tended to kiss a girl here or there. So you'll have to forgive us if we think that you'll just grow very, er, _close_ to Hermione for the next month, and then dump her for some other girl you fancy. It's just always been that way for you."

"James Potter," Sirius growled in bold words. "I expected you to have a little faith in me. I don't think of Hermione as just another girl! She has—_something_—that I'm drawn to, and it's not her looks or her reputation!"

"But that's what you said about Bridget Bell and Lisa Trevor and Rose Moon."

"And they were the ones I stayed faithful to the most!"

"But not faithful enough," James interrupted strictly.

Sirius's face turned cold and rigid. "So that's it. You're going to trust the reputation that has been spread around this school rather than your best friend's own words." James made no comment but looked away from Sirius's penetrating glare.

"I'm afraid that I'll be trusting what you've done every time in the past, unless you prove me wrong."

"Fine! Side with Remus!" Sirius yelled into the empty bathroom. "See if I care." Sirius made his way across the room in several quick strides.

"Sirius! Wait!" James called.

Sirius put his hand on the doorknob and threw it open.

"Don't be mad at me," James pleaded.

Sirius stopped. Without turning to face James, he took several deep breaths and spoke. "You're right," he said evenly and quite calmly. "I shouldn't be mad at you. My past proves you right." He turned around to show James his somber face. "But I swear, the future will prove you undoubtedly wrong."

"Does this mean you're not mad at Remus anymore?" James asked hopefully.

Sirius thought about it for a moment, staring hard at the floor hard. "You know, the only way I'll stay mad at him is if he gets in my way." He spun on his heal and exited the bathroom.

"It's going to be hell for the next few days, isn't it," James said to himself before he, too, left to his dormitory.

"Good morning Remus," Hermione said brightly from her spot at the Gryffindor table. She was sitting alone, eating her oatmeal. Her roommates didn't fancy waking up this early, so Hermione decided to leave without them, giving her some time to herself.

"Good morning, Hermione," Remus said in equal brightness. "Were you deprived of any sleep last night by your roommates?"

"I had more than enough sleep last night, thanks. My roommates were very respectful, since they knew I could wake them up early this morning." Remus chuckled, making Hermione smile.

Remus glanced down the table to check out which foods were available. He helped himself to some bacon and eggs. Rolling up his sleeves, he dug into his meal.

Hermione looked up from her oatmeal to glance at Remus and noticed a deep scratch behind his left ear. And another on his left forearm. Those were the only signs of his lycanthropy. All of a sudden, Hermione felt a surge of sympathy for Remus. She had forgotten that full moons were more painful when he was still at school, since the wolfsbane potion had not yet been invented.

"What?" Remus said, feeling uncomfortable as she continued to stare at his left ear.

Hermione shook her head from her thoughts. "Oh, I was just trying to remember when the next full moon is." She could have hit her head from her idiocy.

Remus's faint smile disappeared in an instant. "Why would you want to know that?" he asked in a dead serious tone.

Hermione searched around in her mind quickly. "I was just thinking of my old Astronomy class. My old professor said to carry on with studying, so I try to keep track of the basic stuff."

"Oh," Remus said. He relaxed. "I think it's in the next two weeks." Of course he knew. How could he forget? He just hoped that by then, Sirius and he would have sorted out their spew. Last year, Remus had to go through a full moon with just James and Peter. Sirius was asleep in the hospital wing along with Snape. They had apparently gotten into a duel, ending up with neither capable of any recognizable speech for twenty-four hours.

"Hello, Remus?" Hermione said. Remus pulled himself out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, what was that?" he asked politely.

"I asked if everyone else was awake in your room," Hermione repeated.

"Yeah, I think so," Remus mumbled. "They were just starting to wake up when I left."

"So did you all stay up late and throw a small party in your dormitory?" Hermione asked with a smile.

A flash of Sirius's and Remus's hate-filled argument flashed across Remus's mind. "Naw," he answered casually, "we actually fell asleep right away, too tired to stay up that late."

"Hiya Harry!" Hermione said to a figure approaching on her left.

Harry raised his eyebrows as he sat down next to Hermione. "Well, someone's feeling chipper today," he laughed.

"No happiness in the morning," grumbled Peter as he walked up behind James.

"Right little ray of sunshine, aren't you?" James mocked as he sat down on the other side of Hermione.

"Food!" exclaimed Peter. On his way of sitting himself next to James, he forcefully grabbed a muffin and stuffed it in his mouth while pouring himself some orange juice.

"Hungry there, Peter?" Remus asked sarcastically.

Peter said something (not along the nicest of lines) but no one could catch it through his full mouth.

"Slow down, Wormtail, the food isn't going anywhere," James said. They all chuckled but were also silenced by the food in their mouths.

After about five minutes of hushed eating, Sirius entered through the Great Hall's doors (quite dramatically, as always) and spotted his friends at once. As he made his way closer to them, he noticed the only spot left that was closest to his friends was next to Remus. He sat down without any hesitation or any sign of discomfort.

"Good morning Sirius," Hermione greeted.

"'Morning everyone," Sirius said warmly with bucket full of cheer. Everyone looked as if they were splashed with water as the cheerfulness reached their ears.

"Wow, that's a drastic mood change, Padfoot," commented Peter.

"Aw, was ickle Siri not feeling his best this morning?" Hermione teased.

Harry's head turned to Hermione as fast as a whip. He eyed her suspiciously but she continued to look at Sirius, unaware of Harry's glare.

Sirius just smirked. She was finally warming up to him. "True, I wasn't the happiest camper, but breakfast is starting to cheer me up."

"Really?" Hermione asked. She took a sip of her orange juice.

"That, and the company," Sirius added suavely, giving her a wink. Hermione smiled into her orange juice glass, but the blood rushing into her cheeks gave it away.

Remus looked between the blushing Hermione and the smirking Sirius. He glowered, threw down his napkin, and left the table suddenly.

"Remus?" Hermione called out.

"I have to go… do something," Remus said lamely over his shoulder as he walked, or stormed, away.

Peter continued to look confused as he stuffed yet another muffin in his gaping mouth. Sirius seemed quite pleased with himself, but hid it well for Hermione. Harry was now staring after Remus with a worried expression across his face. Hermione, too, seemed rather put-out by his departure. James shot Sirius a deathly glare before trotting after Remus.

"Moony!" James yelled after him as they exited the Great Hall.

"Why does he always have to act like that?" Remus growled under his breath. He heard James walking up next to him. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"I want to know what's happening between you and Sirius," James said calmly.

"Why don't you ask _him_?" Remus said.

"Because I want to hear your side of the story," James answered.

Remus turned and gave James a searching look. After a few moments of standing in the middle of a corridor staring at him, Remus finally said, "Fine, but not here."

James nodded. People were walking past them to get to breakfast. James turned around and noticed a classroom down the hall that was not in use. "Down here," James ordered.

"Do we have to talk about it now?" Remus whined as he followed James.

James just sent Remus a warm smile over his shoulder.

Both quickly entered the classroom and Remus shut the door behind him. James hoisted himself onto a desk and continued to stare at his friend. Remus shifted moodily.

"Well?" James said at last.

"Well what?" Remus retorted as he walked over to the windowsill. He looked at the lake glistening in the distance, wishing that he could just hold Sirius's head under the ice-cold water.

"What happened last night?" James said exasperatedly. "Why were you two having a go right after the ball?"

Remus made a noise that could have been a snort or a sigh; it was hard to tell. He spoke facing the window.

"He was just being Sirius," he said simply.

"I know a lot of things Sirius can be," James said slowly. "Which one are you talking about?"

"The one who never lets his friends have what they want." Remus shifted his weight. "He knew from the moment I laid eyes on Hermione that I liked her. He knew it! And yet he still chases after her." He looked over his shoulder to James with round, saddened eyes. "Why does he even like her? She's not his type at all."

James gazed thoughtfully at the wounded Remus. "I think… that Sirius likes this girl because she's a new change," he started to explain, careful with his choice of words. "He's not going after her because you like her, mate," he added quickly. "I'm sure of that."

"Well, I wouldn't put it past him to do so," Remus mumbled under his breath.

"You _know_ he is more loyal than that," James interrupted sharply.

"You're right… I'm just mad at him because… he can actually get the girl." He looked away from James and out the window again. He had finally admitted what he was truly worried about.

"Oh," James said faintly. He could argue and say that Remus still had a shot with Hermione, but that would lead to more fights between Remus and Sirius, with him, James, getting caught in the middle. On the other hand, he could agree with Remus and end the whole thing right now, including his friendship with Remus, which James did not look forward to.

"Remus?"

"Hm?" Remus grunted, still looking away from the classroom.

"How much do you _really _like this girl?"

"You know how you like Lily?" Remus said, almost spitting the name "Lily".

"Yeah…" James groaned, anticipating the next part.

"Only a little less than that."

James looked up to see Remus staring back at him, his cheeks a light shade of pink. "Oh," said James again.

"You've talked to Sirius, right?" James nodded. "Do you know how much he fancies Hermione?"

James sighed. "Truth?"

"Do you think I'd want you to lie to me?" Remus asked.

"No… He really likes her, Remus. A lot."

"I was afraid of that," Remus muttered. "I only ask for this one girl," he said, turning back to the window so it was hard to hear his ramble. "How come I only fall for the ones already taken?"

"What was that?" James asked.

Remus hit his head lightly against the window. He chose now of all times to speak his thoughts. "Nothing…"

"No, you said you always fall for the girls who are already taken." James was smirking now. "Come on, Moony, who else do you like?"

Remus's eyes darted from the lake to the forest uneasily. "It's nothing… really."

"Reeeemus," James sang.

"Do you really want to know?" Remus grimaced. He knew James for too long; his friend would never give up on anything.

"Of course I do."

"Well… it was Lily," Remus said quickly, his face away from the gaping James.

James's mouth hung open during the eerie silence. Had he heard correctly? Did Remus fancy the girl of James Potter's dreams? "How long?"

"Oh… about three years," Remus said in a higher than normal pitch.

"But, you don't now, do you?"

"No, of course not," Remus answered most unconvincingly. Remus looked to James, but James was glaring at the floor. "Look, James, forget about it. I know she's your girl."

James did not speak right away. "You know," he said slowly, "it's actually quite easy for you to win over either of their hearts. You're nice and definitely smart enough."

"James, I don't want Lily, all right?" Remus said, getting angered again. "The whole reason we're here is because of Hermione."

"No, the reason why we're here is because of you and Sirius." Remus's eyes narrowed, but James plunged onwards. "You ought to talk to him. There are no classes for two days, so you'll have plenty of time. I know you both don't want to get into a fight over something as frivolous as a girl."

Remus stared at James, then chuckled. "You know, Prongs, you're starting to sound like me," he said while walking over to his friend.

"Hey, somebody has to be the voice of reason while you're all moody." James got off his desk and made his way to the door.

"I didn't even know you knew what the word frivolous meant," Remus commented.

Unfortunately, both Remus and Sirius did not talk alone together for the rest of the weekend. Actually, they put off their conversation for the entire week, though they did speak to each other, but they tended to get tense around Hermione. James was hardly around to push his two friends into speaking to each other. He and Harry were scarcely found in the common room before eleven. James had the Quidditch team practicing until it grew too dark or Madam Winge, the old Quidditch referee, came onto the field yelling and screaming. Their first match against Slytherin was that Saturday.

The morning of the Quidditch game arrived with the sun shining brightly through the windows of the sixth year Gryffindor boys' dormitory.

"Good morning, mates. Harry, get up!"

James had been pacing around the room for forty minutes. As he saw Peter's curtain open up (that was the only day Peter woke up early; on the day of a Quidditch match), James decided that was a perfect time for everyone else to wake up.

James, frustrated that no one else had his enthusiasm, ripped open Harry's curtains.

Harry had been twitching in his sleep, wrapping his bed sheets around himself. "No… not Sirius… Bellatrix… Department—of Mysteries… NO!" He shot up as he heard his bed curtains open.

James looked down at Harry with an odd look. He folded his arms across his chest but said nothing. He walked away, pondering. Why was Harry dreaming of Sirius and a person Harry never could have met, the Slytherin bitch who had graduated two years ago? Or was the name of Bellatrix just a coincidence?

Harry massaged his forehead; it stung just a little. He had had the same dream where Sirius died. And it always ended after Sirius fell behind the veil with Bellatrix laughing mirthlessly to his face.

Harry shook his head and stood up. "Why'd you wake me up so early, Potter?" he said. Harry gave a yawn.

"Quidditch today, mate!" James shouted zealously as he hopped over to Sirius's bed. He slowly drew back the curtains, making not a sound. As he saw Sirius's sleeping figure looking incredibly peaceful, a smirk drew itself onto James's face. He walked back a few steps, giving himself a run way. He sprinted to Sirius's bed again, this time pouncing on the resting Sirius.

Sirius gave a yelp as James sprung onto his bed. He scrambled away from the crazed Quidditch fan, but fell off the bed and onto his butt.

"James," Sirius growled. He could hear Harry snickering quietly in the background and Peter just laughing openly.

"Shh…" James whispered, holding a finger up to his lips. He held out his hand to help his friend from the cold, hard ground. James, once Sirius was off the floor, pointed to Remus's bed. Sirius gave a knowing wink and they both tip-toed over to the werewolf's bed. Inch by inch, they pulled back the curtains to find Remus glaring back at them.

"Ah!" James yelped, jumping backwards. Sirius just shook his head with a small smile.

"I am going to kill you, Potter," he growled. He slammed his hand on his bed to raise himself off of his bed. "Can you just once let us sleep in on a big Quidditch day?"

James let out an audible gasp. "Never! It'd be blasphemy!" he cried out, indeed sounding as if Remus had suggested defying one of the ten commandments.

"Of course," Remus muttered as he stepped out of bed.

James chose to ignore Remus. He clapped his hands together loudly, making Peter jump. "Well, let's go see if the rest of my teammates are awake yet." He sauntered out of the room.

"Did he—he—he have his Quidditch uniform on already?" Remus asked through a cat-like yawn.

"Mmm hmm," Harry groaned as he reached for his uniform.

Breakfast passed by at lightening speed. The four Marauders ate quickly and dismissed themselves as the sixth year girls entered. Hermione wished both Potters good luck and asked if Remus and Sirius would save her a seat in the stands. Both said they would be more than happy to, and ended up glaring at the other.

Soon, the entire Gryffindor Quidditch was piled up in the locker room. Remus and Peter were saving seats in the stands while Sirius was helping James. Apparently, the eldest Black had some information on the Slytherin team.

"All right, everyone here?" James asked, rubbing his hands nervously together. "Anderson, Anderson," (twins) "Spinnet, Bell, Wood, Thewler… wait, that's only six people… We're missing one!" he said frantically.

"Er, mate," interrupted Sirius. "You didn't count yourself."

"Oh, right…" James said, giving himself a laugh. Others who were nearby chuckled. "Right, down to business."

James started his speech off. "We have been practicing to our hearts contents—"

"And then some," Spinnet added.

"Even though we have some new players on the team doesn't mean we don't have teamwork. We can win this thing if we just stick together and knock out those Slytherin scumbags."

Everyone let out a whoop of cheer.

Sirius stepped up next to James. "I was talking to some midget Slytherin, first year I think, yesterday… Actually thought I was a Slytherin. Can you believe that?" He chuckled to himself and shook his head, until James cleared his throat. Then Sirius carried on. "Right, anyway… Told me that Snape is still trying to play Seeker (like he could) but they've just got a new keeper last week. Er, he's a, shall we say, big-boned seventh year, goes by the name of Rasputin."

Several people winced. With a swat of his hand, Piotr Rasputin had knocked out one of the Hufflepuff first years just the previous week.

"But that's nothing to worry about," James assured everyone. "As long as we score some goals and knock out the other team," (Spencer and Bridget gave a whoop and hit their bats together) "we should be good."

"Yeah, and catch the Snitch of course," Harry said with a smile.

"Ah, don't worry about me," James said confidently as the rest of the team stood up to leave the locker room. "There's no way I'd let Snivellus get the Snitch today."

Sirius had sprinted up to the stands right after the team left the locker rooms. He saw Remus and Peter in their usual seats in the front row… with Hermione sitting closely to Remus. Sirius growled as he pushed aside a Slytherin while making his way to his friends. He sat down in the tiny space between Hermione and Lily. He put his arms around their shoulders and said, "And how are my two beautiful girls doing?"

Lily shrugged his arm off of her. Hermione took Sirius's arm delicately from her shoulder and placed it on his lap.

"Curb it, Black," Lily sighed, her eyes focused on the field swarming with green flying figures.

"I'm hurt, Evans," said Sirius, placing a hand on his heart. "I sang a song for you!"

"Correction: you sang it for Hermione," Lily drawled.

Sirius laughed. "Oh, but didn't you know, Evans?" Sirius said in a deep, mature voice, mocking one of his best friends. "I've had this mad crush on you for years. Go out with me?" He ruffled his hair, trying to make it look wind swept. It didn't have the same affect on Sirius as it did on James unfortunately; Sirius's hair still looked perfect, but with a twinge of messiness around the top.

Lily smiled, but played along. "But didn't you know, Potter? Hidden underneath my insults and taunts, I've had this deep, passionate feeling for you every since I first laid eyes on you."

"Oy, you two love birds over there," Remus called out, sounding rather put-out. "They're coming on."

And so they were. Seven Quidditch players fully clad in red and gold robes soared out onto the pitch. A thunderous roar emitted from the Gryffindor section as the players passed over them.

"And here is the team we have all _really _been waiting for… GRYFFINDOR!" yelled Amanda Carrick, the commentator of the game.

A loud hiss sounded off from the green section of the stands, but was overpowered by the roars of the Gryffindor fans.

"We have Harry Thewler, Moira Anderson (two new additions to the team), and her twin brother, Dominic Anderson as the chasers. Bridget Bell and Spencer Spinnet as their two beaters. Zach Wood, damn good keeper. And finally, the team captain and the best seeker we have seen here yet," (more hisses from Slytherin) "James Potter!"

James flew down to meet Kevin Nott and Madam Winge, an old looking woman who looked as if she had been in high speed winds for too long. From the Marauder's view, it looked as if Nott was trying to break James's fingers. James just kept smiling that cocky grin of his, vexing the Slytherins even more. They mounted their brooms. Madam Winge whistled through the crowds screams and they rocketed up, Harry and James being the fastest on their new Nimbus One-Thousand and Ones.

"The Quaffle is up, and Slytherin gets it first. Nott to Lensherr and back to Nott—Oh, but he's hit by a Bludger. Excellent hit, Bell. Hit harder next time, though Bridget! Just joking there, Professor," Amanda said hurriedly to the glaring McGonagall.

"And Thewler now has the Quaffle, ducks a Bludger sent by Slytherin's Sackville. Thewler passes to Anderson. Anderson to Anderson, shoot Dom!"

An eruption from the Gryffindor end signaled that the score was 10-0 Gryffindor.

"And it's now Slytherin's possession, Black has it. Regulus carries it down the field, fakes a pass to Lensherr, but is intervened by Moira. Anderson passes the ball to Anderson, who passes it to Thewler—"

"Come on Harry, shoot!" Hermione squealed, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet.

"You really get into this game, don't you?" Remus asked with a bemused smile on his face.

"Well, this is the first time Harry's played Chaser, and I really want him to do well," Hermione said defensively.

The score quickly turned to 50-40, Gryffindor leading, in just a few minutes.

"Heated game this is turning out to be," said Amanda as Slytherin scored another goal to make it a tie. "They are just scoring goals left and right. All right, Gryffindor in possession. Dom has the ball and is flying straight down the center—he passes it to Moira—she shoots—SHE SCORES! 60-50 in the first ten minutes. This'll be a high scored game indeed.

"And Regulus Black is flying down the pitch, ducks a Bludger sent by Spinnet—passes it to Lensherr—he shoots, but Wood makes a spectacular save—Wood tosses it half-way down the field to Thewler—Harry dodges a Bludger sent by Noirecoeur—is that the Snitch flying straight at him?"

Harry heard the Snitch flying underneath him, but a nanosecond later it was flying at his face. As an impulse, he grabbed the Snitch with his left hand while holding the Quaffle with his right. It hit him a moment later that he was not a Seeker, so therefore didn't need to catch the Snitch. He let go of it as if it had burned his hand. Fortunately, the Referee did not see that, as it had happened all in two seconds, but James sure did see it.

"And Potter is going for a dive, Snape inches behind him. Unfortunately for Slytherin, Snape has an old Shooting Star, and compared to Potter's Nimbus, it's actually quite a joke…" Slytherins started booing at her comment. "Oh pipe down Slytherin, you know it's true… The Snitch shoots up suddenly, and Potter is still hot on its trail—Ooo, Slytherin just scored again—goal by Nott—but look! James has caught the Snitch! Too bad Slytherin Scum!"

"Amanda, I think that's enough of your commenting," Professor McGonagall said sharply.

"We won! We won!" squealed Hermione. She jumped up and gave Remus, then Sirius a jubilant hug. They just stood, wide-eyed, as Hermione enveloped them in a bear hug.

"Come on, party in the Gryffindor common room!" shouted Sirius over the shrieks of glee as Hermione let go of him. All filed out of the stands to meet the winners of the match. Sirius made it a point to elbow strongly past the spectators in green.

Back in the common room, all of the upper classmen and some of the lowers were lounging around. The Marauders and Harry had stopped by the kitchens to "borrow" some food off the house-elves.

"You have pretty quick reflexes there, Harry," James said, plopping down on one of the chairs by the fireplace. Harry, sitting on the other chair, looked confused. "I saw that catch of the Snitch, right before I caught it."

"Er, it was just an impulse," Harry said defensively.

"Riiight," James said, nodding his head in complete mockery.

After Spencer Spinnet had finished doing his impressions of Snape's face as James caught the Snitch, everyone started filling up the staircases, either laughing or congratulating the team one last time before heading up to bed. Now all who were left in the common room were the four Marauders, Harry, and Hermione.

"I never knew playing Chaser could be so much fun," Harry said excitedly.

"Yeah, if you hadn't shown up here, Harry, I would have filled the position myself and given this really eager third year the Seeker position," James said. He sighed. "Oh well… At least I get to show off Snivellus."

"And that _is_ a bonus," Sirius added with a bark-like laugh.

"Yeah… Blimey, he's horrible at Seeker," James said, following up Sirius's laugh. "Too bad they banned the usage of wands during the games… 'Cuz that would have made the game _a lot_ more interesting…"

"As interesting as this talk… _isn't_," interrupted Hermione from the corner of the couch as she made her way to stand. "I'm going to bed. Good night everyone." She turned, grabbing a few books from beside the couch, and walked towards the stairs.

"Good night, Hermione!" Remus and Sirius called, while James, Peter, and Harry just gave a quiet, "'Night."

Remus and Sirius, on opposite ends of the couch, glared irritatingly at one another. They folded their arms across their chests but said no more.

"You know, you two are going to have to talk sooner or later," James said crossly.

"Talk about what?" Peter asked, still oblivious.

James gave a fleeting look at Harry, and quietly said to Peter, "Hermione."

"There's nothing to talk about," Sirius said huffily.

"Oh, sure there isn't," James shot back sarcastically.

"I'm not sure I really want to be here for this," Harry said uncomfortably. "See you mates upstairs."

"Wait, there's nothing here," Remus said, joining Harry. "If there is really anything to talk about, Sirius and I will sort it out later. Right now, I'm very tired, so if you don't mind…"

Remus followed Harry up the staircase.

James glowered at Sirius before retreating up to bed too.

"You _and_ Remus fancy Hermione?" Peter asked Sirius. He sounded quite surprised.

"So it would seem," Sirius said edgily.

"Wow… why would you like a girl like her?" Peter asked, his voice still harboring awe.

"Because… it's complicated Wormtail. I just do." Sirius left Peter standing there, who was wondering how Sirius's feelings for a girl could be complicated.

Over in the girls' dormitory, one girl out of five was wide awake. She was troubled with the thoughts a normal teenage girl would not have. Hermione rolled on her side, fretting about the past. More specifically, about two boys who lived in the past.

_Remus and Sirius… they are acting so strangely when they're together around me… I wonder what's wrong…_ But part of Hermione's mind told her that she could be the cause of all the tenseness between the twosome. They wouldn't be fighting about/over her, would they?__

_But they're just friends, like Harry and Ron,_ she thought, convincing herself. _But both of them seem different… different than regular friends. _Hermione gave a tiny snort. _Of course, they _do_ want to be more than friends, but even so, I feel something for them. Maybe because I know how they end up. I can feel pity for what doesn't happen for another twenty years…_ Hermione sighed. _Or maybe because they aren't like any other boy you've met…_

"What?" Hermione said out loud, though still in a mouse-quiet voice. That last thought had startled her.

_Oh come on, we know that they are better than the boys at the present Hogwarts. Better looking, too. Don't say that that doesn't count for anything._

_Gosh, now I'm starting to think like Ron,_ said another part of her mind.

_But haven't you ever wondered what they would do on a date? How they would kiss?…_

_Stop it,_ said the other voice weakly. _They're just too old._

_But not in this time, they aren't…_

"Oh this is just awful," Hermione groaned.

A/N: Okay, so this story is going to a different angle than I had first planned. I think I might have to keep you all guessing of who Hermione will end up with. Sorry to all those I promised a SBHG! I might change it. I might not. Sorry!

Now on to my lovely reviewers!

**The Lady Elizabeth:** I don't care if you review my story fifteen times in a row. I just love reviews! And yes, I think RLHG and SBHG are good ones, but I can't seem to find any really good ones… Do you have any?

**The girl at the rockshow:** Haha you don't what? That was a confusing review…

**Artemisgirl****: **Yes, I feel so bad for Remus too! I mean, it's so sad, 'cuz he has to put up with his dark secret (werewolf-iness) and everything… And I have the ending planned out, so I think you'll like what I will have written.

**Isnani****: **Yeah, see, I've always pictured Ron with Hermione. It's so plain to see. None of this Harry and Hermione. They are just friends. So I had to have Ron hyperventilating over Hermione with Sirius and Remus. It's the kind of thing he'd do when none of his close friends is around. Thanks!

**Dawn: **Eek! A Draco story? Ew… I'm sorry, but I don't like the Slytherin very much. At least, not enough to write a whole story about him. Oh my goodness, it was so hard to keep everyone is character that last chapter. We know so much about everyone in the future! –sigh- At least it's over and done with. Thanks!

**Flaignhan****: **Yes, sorry about not updating for a while… Thanks!

**Shelby H: **Ron freaking out and all of his rants were indeed fun to do. Thanks!

**Lali-chan****: **Yeah, Ron, Harry, Sirius, and Remus… all fancying Hermione. Well, not Harry anymore. Isn't Hermione very popular? –cough- Thanks!

**Padfootz-luvr****: **I'm taking a wild guess, but you like Sirius? Eh heh, yes, I know Sirius is… the best, but I really like Remus too… I'm sorry, but I'm not promising anything until the end of the story. Thanks.

**Bboo****: **Yeah, if I _do_ do a SBGW and RLHG, it'll be after this story is done. Thanks!

**Roxxie****-Hart: **Exactly! Leave all you guys hanging until the end! I'm sorry I couldn't update by Tuesday, but I was gone from the computer all most of the weekend… Thanks!

**Khuu-khuu****: **Is the action here yet? Well I hope so. Thanks!

**DracosPrincess16: **They won't be fighting (like they are now) for too much longer, don't worry. Thanks!

**Blondekat3: **Put the wooden spoon down. I'm sorry I didn't update as early as you would like. Very busy, here! And I'll have to leave you all hanging about who ends with Hermione. Sorry about that too!

**Eman****: **Thanks!

**Pieceocake****: _There aren't going to be anymore flash-forwards for awhile_**. So… sorry! Thanks, though.

**Antisocial mint: **Thanks! I'm glad you love my story.

**BlackAngel1391: **Of course I'm grateful! I will take any suggestions! In fact, I'd wish I had more! Your suggestion would make my story indeed, a lot different than I planned… I'll think about it, but I don't think I'll use it. There is a specific reason for everything I put in the last chapter that hints to the ending. Thanks anyway!

**Niphredel**** Black: **Thanks.

**DoodlerGirl****: **Exactly what I was thinking. I couldn't _really_ see Lupin acting that way, but giving the situation at hands, I think I did pretty well. And I actually didn't really want to write that chapter. It was kinda boring, but it helped a lot with the story, especially the ending. Have at thee!

**Dancerchick314: **I _might_ be writing another time-traveling story, but definitely after this one is complete. I also have to see how my school schedule is. I don't fancy failing all of my classes, but keeping a fanfic up. (Wish I could though…) Thanks!

Thanks all for reading. And now for the reviewing!


	16. Chapter 16: A Full Moon

**Chapter 16: A Full Moon**

"Excellent block there, Sirius. Watch class, how he does not simply say the incantation, but yells it, full of emotion and determination."

Professor Aylward, for Defense Against the Dark Arts class, had everyone paired up. For a week, they had been performing curses and jinxes on their partners in the form of a duel. It was Thursday when it was James's turn to duel with his partner, Lily. He was still looking green and sick ever since he said it would be an unfair fight against a girl.

Sirius and Snape were at it and had been for the last ten minutes. They could probably go on for hours and never grow tired. The only way to end this match, it seemed, would be the words _Avada__ Kedavra._

Professor Aylward was watching the duel with intense interest. He had never had students as gung-ho as Sirius and Snape. But then again, this was his second year of teaching there at Hogwarts. He, along with Professor Smirch, was the youngest staff member there. His original plan, after graduating after Hogwarts, was to play Keeper for the Falmouth Falcons, which meant he was quite fit for a man in his late twenties. Interesting as it was, since Aylward and Smirch were closely related (cousins once removed), they never got along at all. They always got in arguments, which made Aylward less popular with the Slytherins.

"_Occaeco__!_" Snape spitted from his spot on the mini-stage Aylward had set up. They spell had meant to cause temporary blindness if Sirius hadn't used another blocking spell.

"_Protego__!_" Sirius yelled. The spell was deflected to hit a chair, which knocked over immediately. Sirius did not waste any time. "_Babblious__!_"

Snape stumbled back a few steps as a jet of ruby-red hit him in the mouth. He swallowed, massaged his throat, but started to speak suddenly and uncontrollably, thanks to the Babbling Curse Sirius had sent his way.

"Hi, I'm Severus Sebastian Snape. I'm really bored right now. This class is really boring. The teacher, if you could call him that, is teaching hexes I learned in my first year."

He would not stop talking. James and Sirius were laughing their heads off, until Lily and Hermione gave them a silencing glare. Professor Aylward just folded his arms over his chest. Most of the girls in the class glared at Snape too. (Aylward, because of his behavior, but mostly his looks, was very popular with the older girls of Hogwarts.)

The loud laughter of James had caught Snape's attention. "And Potter. Why is he still at this school? Hasn't he broken enough rules to be expelled? Him and his little sidekicks, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew. Oh, how I'd love to just jinx them until they cried. First remove all limbs, their arms, legs, p—"

"_Finite!_" Aylward said quickly.

Snape's mouth snapped shut loudly. He glared a thousand evils to Sirius, who was just standing wide-eyed on the stage.

"I didn't know you felt so powerfully about me, Snivelly," Sirius joked.

"_Sliti_—" Snape started to growl.

"Enough!" intervened Aylward sharply. "That's good boys. Next pair. Hermione? Remus?"

Snape flew off the stage, his rage emitting strongly off of him. Sirius just grinned and hopped off the stage, landing perfectly and next to Hermione.

"Good luck," he whispered before she started towards the stairs. She smiled but didn't say anything to him. Remus abandoned his post next to James and walked to the stage, throwing a rare evil smirk at Sirius. Sirius's eyes narrowed.

Remus walked up the stairs quickly to find Hermione already standing on the opposite end. Remus smiled and gave a bow, his light brown hair creating a curtain around his thin face. Hermione smiled back and gave a little curtsey. Remus gave a small laugh.

"_Impedimenta!_" Hermione cried out right after Remus straightened himself.

Professor Aylward clapped. "Good Hermione. That's what you need to do. Don't wait for your opponent to get ready."

The scratching of quills was heard from the audience as Remus hopped back to his feet. "Good hit, Hermione," he said. He quickly sent a Full Body Bind Curse her way; she barely dodged it.

"_Reducto__!_" she yelled. Chairs flew from behind her and headed straight at Remus at top speed.

"_Immobulus__!_" Remus said almost lazily. The chairs fell a foot in front of him with a loud crash. But Remus did not wait for Hermione to resettle herself. "_Immobulus__!_" he said again, this time aiming his spell towards Hermione. She deflected it. The Immobilizing Spell hit someone in the audience in the back; Snape fell forward on his face, finding it hard to breathe.

"I think Remus has met his match," James whispered to Lily from behind after a few more minutes of heated dueling. The wave of sickness that Lily gave him passed over.

"I'm just surprised he has lasted this long," she commented, her eyes still focused on Hermione. "She definitely knows what she's doing."

"Coming from Durmstrang and all, I should think so," James mumbled.

"I wonder how well Harry is going to duel," Lily mused aloud.

James gazed at her sharply but didn't comment.

Finally, after a few more curses were sent, Hermione was growing tired. "_Expelliarmus__!_" she said, still full of determination, but also weariness.

Remus's wand flew out of his hands. His smile disappeared. Why hadn't he thought of that? But down in his heart, he knew why.

Hermione stood, having a victorious air about her, with both wands in her hand.

"Well don't stop there," Aylward said from below the stage. "Never doubt the powers of any wizard or witch. Wandless magic may still be performed. Also, the disarmed opponent might have a friend nearby who would be willingly to give the fighter his wand."

"Oh, right," Hermione said hastily. She searched around her head for just a second, seeking a simple spell that would do the trick. "_Petrificus__ Totalus!_" she said, aiming her own wand at Remus. Remus's arms and legs snapped together and he started to fall backwards. "_Wingardium__ Leviosa!_" Hermione said quickly, and pillows in the corner of the room zoomed behind him and broke his fall.

"Excellent job, Hermione," Aylward congratulated enthusiastically. "Full marks on that one. Both of you," he added, looking at the motionless Remus.

"Oh, sorry!" Hermione said, resting her eyes back on Remus. "_Finite!_"

Remus's arms and legs rolled away from him as he started to relax. He never got used to that spell. After a few seconds of just laying there, he started to get up. Hermione rushed over and held out her hand. He looked at her for a moment, then took hold of her hand, popping up into the air with new energy hidden inside him. She smiled and gave him his wand. They both walked off stage together.

"Excellent battles today, class," Aylward said, turning to face the audience. "Since we've run out of time today, Saumya and Fabrizio will go first thing tomorrow." A bell rang in the distance. "All right, class. I'll see you all tomorrow."

The classes filed out of the classroom, talking excitedly about the last three battles.

"Well, we sure did give them a show," Remus muttered to Hermione as they packed up their things.

"Yeah," Hermione said, listening to a bunch of Hufflepuffs talk in awe about the time Hermione used a Jelly-Leg Jinx.

"You really know what you're doing, don't you?" Remus said, trying to sound casual. They walked up with James, Sirius, Peter, and Harry, who was talking to Lily.

"Well, Harry and I… we were in this club for Defense," Hermione said uneasily. "So we've had lots of practice, right Harry?"

"Mm hm," Harry nodded.

"When are you scheduled to duel, Harry?" Lily asked.

"Oh, tomorrow, the last duel actually, with some Slytherin named Derek Thuggly."

"Oh, you better be careful, Harry," Peter said through his panting as he tried to catch up with his friends. He had talked to the Professor about getting some extra credit somehow; Peter's duel the day before hadn't even lasted a minute, and he wasn't on the victorious side. "Thuggly's a real good duelist."

"But nothing Thewler can't handle," James said, draping his arm on Harry's shoulder. "Right, buddy?"

Harry just laughed. "Not to boast, but I'm sure the battle will last even shorter than yours, Peter." Peter gave a friendly glare and a pitiful pout.

"Ouch," Sirius laughed. He clapped Peter on the back. "But we still love you, Wormtail."

"So if you're as good as you say you are, have you entered any dueling contests?" James asked.

Harry thought back in his head… His second year in which they had a very short dueling club… His fourth year in which he battled against Voldemort. His fifth year with the DA meetings and the Death Eater attack at the Department of Mysteries… "Naw, just little duels in that club Hermione was talking about. I'm really not that good."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a knowing glance, turning away to hide their grins from their friends.

"So what say you all to some dinner?" Sirius asked, clapping his hands together and rubbing them in an anxious manner.

"Aye!" James and Harry both cried out. With a sweet good-bye to Lily, James ran down the hall, racing against Sirius and Harry. Peter yelled down the hall "Hey guys! Wait up!" before running after them.

This left Lily and Hermione shaking their heads in disgrace and Remus standing in between them laughing quietly to himself. They walked calmly down the hall as Remus watched packs of girls giggling at the speeding threesome racing down the crowded corridor.

"Idiots," Lily muttered under her breath.

"Really?" Hermione asked, looking sideways at Lily. "You think so?"

Lily shifted uncomfortably. She glanced at Remus.

"Oh, I don't care what you say about my friends," he said honestly. "And I wouldn't repeat any of this conversation to them, as a matter of fact. I'm just walking here with you two. Heck, I'm not even part of this conversation—"

"Remus," Hermione said, laying a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"Eh heh, right," he said, embarrassed.

"They just seem to act so—childish," Lily said, but not before giving Remus an odd look.

"Would you rather have them try to act all 'cool' and grown up?" Hermione asked.

"Just maturely," Lily said stubbornly.

Remus's insides squirmed into knots.

"Good luck trying to find a mature boy here," Hermione mumbled.

Remus found this incredibly awkward to walk in the middle of this conversation. He gave Hermione an odd look, one she must have felt because she looked back at him.

"There are a few mature boys around here," Lily said offhandedly. She looked at Remus (whose neck snapped to the side Lily was on) before looking at Hermione.

"Please tell me I'm not one of those guys who is actually 'one of the girls'," Remus moaned.

Lily and Hermione, both in sync, linked their arms with his. His insides tightened once again.

"Aw, but you love it," Hermione teased. She and Lily giggled uncontrollably.

Remus let his head roll backwards and shook his head to the ceiling as if saying "Why me?"

"Anyways, guys wish to know what girls talk about when no boys are around, don't they?" Lily asked.

"And now you do!" Hermione stated happily.

"Aren't I the lucky one?" Remus said sarcastically.

"Yes, you are."

"So… did you see that outfit Zoë LeBeau was wearing yesterday?" Lily asked Hermione, clearly in a jesting manner. "Oooo, it was _awful!_"

"Oh God, no," Remus whimpered, running his hands over his face and through his soft hair. "I can barely stand you two talking about my friends. How do you think I'll handle gossip and clothes?"

"We're just teasing you, Remus," Lily said, giving him a little shoulder nudge.

"_How could I have cheated?_" they all heard a familiar voice yell from the Great Hall.

"Maturity, that's all I ask for," Lily muttered to herself before she, Hermione, and Remus walked in for dinner.

James was sitting amid the two other Marauders and across from Harry. James, Sirius, and Harry looked a little winded while Peter was bright pink in the face; Harry's and James's hair was quite messier than usual.

"Seriously, Sirius, how could I have cheated?" James asked again. "It's a bloody game of race!"

"You pushed that second year in front of me on purpose," Sirius said, not able to suppress his smile.

"But seriously, Lily," Hermione said, "would you actually treasure maturity most of all?" Hermione, Lily, and Remus ignored the arguing and walked together (arms still linked) through the great doors. "Remus," Hermione said abruptly. "Would you say maturity is an important value?"

Remus opened and closed his mouth, looking quite like a fish. "Is there going to be a correct answer for this?" he asked hopefully.

"I just want your opinion…" Hermione said.

"Well, the person can't be a total—crazy person, but yes, you can't have a perfectly sane—boyfriend, in your cases."

"Thank you Remus," Hermione said, nodding her head once.

"I can't believe you just said that," Lily laughed.

"The fact that you two just out-dueled two Marauders is an intimidating thought," Remus said.

Lily and Hermione giggled again.

James and Sirius, just noticing that Harry was staring slack-jawed at the people coming, turned around. James and Sirius's jaw, in unison, dropped as far as they would go.

Remus was blushing. Remus was arm in arm with the two girls they both fancied. Remus was causing those two girls to giggle uncontrollably. What was Remus doing?

"What's so funny?" Peter asked in his mousy voice, popping his head over James's shoulder.

"Oh, nothing," Hermione hummed as they unhooked their arms to sit down.

"We've just decided that Remus is one of the girls now," Lily said through more giggles. She placed herself next to Harry.

"Yes, he helped us with boy troubles and gave us some juicy gossip," Hermione added with a huge grin on her face, trying to hold her giggles in valiantly.

Remus groaned as he sat down between Lily and Hermione.

James and Sirius had finally shut their jaws, but gave identical suspicious glares towards Remus, who did not seem to notice… or didn't care.

James finally gathered his wits. "So, Moony, while walking with these fine young ladies, did you happen to catch any dirt about _the Marauders_?" he asked suavely, leaning in.

"Oh, they were talking about you the whole time," Remus said casually, looking up and down the tables, searching for the right food.

"And?" James asked. Harry was laughing and shaking his head at his father's behavior. Could he really not sense the sarcasm?

"Ah ha," Remus said, grabbing the chicken legs and piling them onto his plate. "Hm? Oh, Hermione said that she thinks you, James, are one sexy guy, but she doesn't date Quidditch players, so you're out of the question—"

Hermione's head snapped to Remus, giving him a wild look. Lily burst out laughing, causing some timid first years to jump in their seats a few spots away.

"And Lily—Lily actually said that she wants to snog you senseless every time you ruffle your hair up. Finds it very attractive, she does," Remus continued, still in a slapdash tone. He stuffed some mashed potatoes into his grinning mouth.

James's eyes lit up. He glanced hopefully at Lily, who was staring, shocked, at Remus. She punched him in the arm.

"Oops," he said. A grin burst through his serious features. "I wasn't supposed to tell you all that."

"So, Lily—" James raised his hand to rumple his hair unnecessarily again, but Lily interrupted him.

"Don't even think about it, Potter," Lily growled. She flashed Remus a dirty glare before looking back at James. "Are you that dense that you can't even see the sarcasm dripping from Remus's mouth?"

James's hand froze above his forehead. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, dropping his hand down. "Are you saying you don't like the hair? …But chicks dig the hair ruffling!"

"Well not this one," Lily snarled.

James turned to Hermione, looking embarrassed. "And what Remus said about you was… false, right?"

Hermione gave a short chuckle. "You're a good looking guy, James, but not that good looking."

"So that means you don't find me to be incredibly sexy?" Harry asked, feigning a pout.

"Sorry, Harry," Hermione said in a "too bad, so sad" sort of way.

"Well, now that _that _is all cleared up," Remus said. The others laughed and continued to eat, scarcely talking from all of the delicious food in front of them.

Sirius had not said a word since Remus arrived… arms linked with Lily and Hermione. Sirius had expected Remus to be jealous of how Hermione blushed at his, Sirius's, own words. What he had not expected was himself getting envious of how Hermione acted around Remus. It was almost as if she couldn't decide who she liked, so she just "flirted" around both of them.

"Sirius," Remus said.

"Hm? What was that?" Sirius said quickly, snapping out of his thoughts.

"I asked for the treacle tarts," Remus said slowly, looking at Sirius oddly, as if sensing something.

"Oh, right," Sirius said, he passed over the plate.

Back at the common room, a couple hours later, Sirius, James, and Harry were finishing their Transfiguration homework that was due the next day. They had been working on it in silence for the past twenty-four minutes. Harry and Sirius were in the lounging chairs while James was lying on the rug in front of the fire.

"Padfoot," James said, scratching his chin with an expensive-looking quill. "What did you put for part three?" No answer. "Padfoot?" He looked up to find Sirius not concentrating at all. He was staring into the fire, his parchment rolled up and his quill behind his ear. "Did you finish already?"

Sirius nodded with glazed over eyes. He blinked a few times and looked at James as though seeing him for the first time. "Do you know where Moony is?"

"Why?" James asked skeptically. Harry looked up from his homework too.

"I wanted to ask him to marry me," Sirius said sardonically. James and Harry both raised identical eyebrows. "I want to talk to him. Is that a crime to talk to your friend?"

James gazed at his friend, even more warily than before. "I think he's in the library helping out Peter," he said at last.

"Thanks," Sirius mumbled. He placed his homework to the side and jogged out of the common room.

"It wouldn't hurt to see what he wrote, would it?" James asked Harry, reaching for Sirius's complete homework. Harry just laughed but egged James on anyway.

Sirius ran down the halls, up stairs, past students, and came to a screeching halt in front of the library. Literally. Before tip-toeing into the library, he took a deep breath. He could never get used to the smell of this library.

He waved excitedly to Madam Pince, who just glared at him in return. He shrugged and started to slowly walk down the aisles to the back tables, where Peter and Remus usually worked.

His ears perked up. He heard Peter's complaining. He peaked through a bookcase to see what was happening. To his surprise, it was a bushy brunette that was helping Peter. Hermione sat across from Peter, helping him with his homework, looking quite reluctant.

Sirius frowned. Where was Remus? He scanned the other tables. "Ah ha," he whispered triumphantly. Remus was sitting at the furthest corner in the back, sitting criss-crossed on the floor… facing Lily. Facing Lily quite close. With a sheepish grin on his face. Why did Sirius get a foreboding feeling when he spotted this?

Remus said something quietly, leading to Lily giving a little giggle and blushing. Remus stared intently at her with his cheeks burning a soft pink. When she went to look at him, he darted his eyes down to his book.

Sirius had had enough. He practically ran out of there, ignoring Madam Pince's shouts of no running in the library. He sprinted his way back to the common room, his need to talk to Remus long gone. All he needed to do was talk to James. Because Sirius, one of Hogwarts most wanted guys, could sense any flirting a mile away.

"Piddlediddle," he breathed.

"Indeed!" the Fat Lady said, swinging her door open.

"Prongs!"

Sirius ran over to where he had left his friends at the fireplace.

"I didn't mean to, Padfoot," James said quickly, dropping a piece of parchment. "I was just—a bit confused at the ending; I didn't know what to write—"

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked. He waved his hand impatiently. "Never mind that. I've _got _to tell you something."

"What?" James asked, sitting up from the floor suddenly. The rare times Sirius was actually taking something seriously was not the time to goof off.

Sirius's eyes darted to Harry.

"Just tell me," James demanded. Harry was one of their close friends now. He could hear what Sirius had to say… unless it involved a full moon.

"It's about Remus… and Lily," he gasped. He flopped down into his previous seat, looking anxiously at James.

James's eyebrows furrowed, yet he said nothing.

"You see, Remus—the way he acted at the library—it seemed as if—"

"He fancied her?" James finished, his voice filled with a light pain.

Sirius nodded. "How did you guess that?"

"He—he told me that he had fancied her for almost three years while I was talking to him about the whole you-Hermione-Remus thing."

Harry sat as still as the grave. In his mind, wheels were turning. The mere presence of him and Hermione was indeed changing things around here a little too much. With Hermione being here, she had caught the attention of Sirius and Remus. They got into a fight over her. James had to calm each one down. While talking, Remus let it slip that he liked his, Harry's, mother, which he did not do in the other past. That alone might change either the friendship between Remus and James, or the relationship James and Lily would have in the future. James, being the sincerely loyal friend he is, could let Remus go out with Lily, without putting up a fight. Lily wouldn't fall in love with James, therefore turning Harry Potter into Harry Lupin….

"Bloody hell," Harry whispered after all that went through his head. His eyes shut tightly as he ran a slightly shaking hand through his messy hair. He had never felt more distraught in this time than right now.

"Harry, are you all right?" James asked tentatively, noticing Harry's distress.

Harry didn't respond right away. "Sorry mates, I—er, have a sudden headache. Try to be quiet when you enter, okay?" Harry, his mind starting to numb, got up and walked out, leaving his finished homework behind.

"What do you suppose that was all about?" James asked Sirius. The Potter boy crawled up from the floor and onto the chair Harry had occupied moments before.

Sirius gazed deeply at Harry's retreating figure. _Indeed, what _was_ all that about?_ Sirius, to James, just shrugged. He would talk about his suspicions later.

"But what about Remus?" Sirius asked, sounding both impatient and worried.

"Well, seeing as Lily isn't really mine to give away or take, he—I suppose—could go out—"

"James! How can you even suggest that?" Sirius asked, outraged. "You've been crushing for this girl ever since fourth year!"

"But Remus has since his third year," James said saddened, defeated tone. "And you know Moony. He never gets the girl he wants…"

"Prongs, this is nonsense. Moony likes Hermione. Let's just stick with that, something we can handle."

"But you like her," James pointed out.

"James," Sirius sighed. "I would give Hermione to Remus if it meant you got Lily and we would all stop fighting."

James blinked. A true smile, not a smirk, sneaked onto his face as he stood up. Sirius got to his feet, too. "Padfoot… have I ever told you how loyal of a friend you are?" He put an arm around Sirius's shoulder. Sirius returned it and slung his arm, too, over James's shoulder.

"Once or twice maybe."

They walked up to their dorm room, leaving their homework and troubles behind.

Remus popped out from a dark corner. He had heard the entire conversation from the moment Harry stood up and left. He had forgotten how faithful his friends were. All he had seen in Sirius was his lust after girls for the past few weeks. But now, he remembered the boy who had risked his life for Remus every month. The boy who taught Remus how to live beyond books and into the world where rules were meant to be broken. The boy who accepted Remus as a friend when no one else would.

Remus made up his mind. No more fighting over a girl. It was stupid to begin with. He marched across the common room, but stopped suddenly. How come the boy who Remus called "best friend" could not learn to pick up after himself? Remus sighed and trekked back to the fireplace. He gathered up all the things James, Sirius, and Harry had left, stuffed them into their appropriate bags and carried them up stairs.

He walked through the doors, only thinking of talking to Sirius for once and for all, but found loyalty-boy sound asleep, his leg and arm poking out from his curtains. Remus sighed. He laid down their bags grudgingly and slipped into his own bed.

Remus had an odd dream indeed. He and Sirius were collecting baby dragons for James and Lily's wedding. Hermione was running around, frantically screaming about how Snape set the cheesemonkeys loose.

James gave a deafening snore.

As Remus fell into sleep again, seeing as two o'clock in the morning was an unrespectable time to wake up, he had a different dream.

His muscular body was rippling as he bounded through the dark, looming forest. His fur was coated with dirt and sweat. The werewolf sniffed the air. He could sense three other animals near by. In a flash, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were standing right beside him. Moony lifted his head; another smell had wafted into his snout. A human.

Without his three companions, the werewolf leapt over roots and stones. At last, a teenage girl figure stood before him. Her bushy hair blowing ever so slightly in the wind. He wanted to pounce on her and taste her flesh. He started to run, but another figure stood in his way. It was Harry.

Harry leaned over the sleeping figure.

"I think he's dead," someone whispered behind him.

"Why dead?" said another. "Why can't there be a cheerful excuse?"

"Because he's bloody late for class!" yelled the first.

"Er, Lupin?" Harry poked Remus on the arm, ignoring Sirius and James's bickering. "Wake up…"

"AH!"

Remus had yelled. He had just opened his eyes from his dream, where Harry was glaring at him, holding his wand up in a ominous manner, to Harry bent over him, staring at him worriedly. Remus scrabbled away from Harry, but fell off his bed.

"Oh come on, I don't have that bad of hair in the morning… do I?" Harry asked.

James laughed. "Of course you don't, mate," he said with a wink.

Remus's head popped up from the other side of his bed. "Did someone say late for class?" he asked sleepily. He groped inside his wardrobe and pulled out a neatly folded white shirt and started to button it up over his bare chest.

"Er—yeah, mate. History class started twelve minutes ago," Peter said, looking at his old watch.

In less than thirty seconds, Remus Lupin was out the door, leaving his friends stunned at his speed.

All through the day, the day of the full moon it just happened to be, Remus had tried to talk to Sirius, but just couldn't find the time to do so. It was either too many people were around or it was class time.

At last, the last class of the day rolled around. The Marauders walked out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts room congratulating Harry's performance in his duel.

"Harry, that was bloody brilliant!" cried Peter.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," joked James.

"Good job, Harry," Remus said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Er, Sirius, can I talk to you for a minute? No, your guys go ahead."

Sirius hung back while James, Harry, and Peter kept on walking; James was starting to smile.

"Yeah mate?" Sirius said.

"We—we need to talk," Remus said bluntly.

Sirius agreed and they started towards an empty classroom.

"SIRIUS BLACK!"

Sirius, in the middle of the doorway, stopped suddenly, causing Remus to crash into him. Sirius winced and turned around to find a furious McGonagall.

"Yes, Professor?" he asked meekly.

"Do you know why I'm angry?" she asked, her flaring nostrils glowing white.

"Because I tricked the House-elves into giving Slytherin rotten food?"

"Actually, I was speaking of the incident with the jinxed treats you gave a couple of Slytherin first years," she said sharply. "…You made the House-elves give the entire Slytherin house rotten food?!"

Remus raised his eyebrows, turning to Sirius, finding all this rather amusing. Sirius, on the other hand, just smirked.

"Yeah, you could say I did that."

McGonagall's face contorted with anger. "You're coming with me, Black. The punishment will fit the crime. You will help the house-elves cook an edible dinner for the Slytherins."

Remus remembered that he needed to make things up with Sirius before the full moon, or else he would regret it deeply. "Professor," Remus said quietly.

Professor McGonagall turned around. Her face suddenly went from vengeful to an almost compassionate manner.

"It's about tonight," he said quietly. McGonagall nodded. "Could I leave earlier than usual tonight?"

McGonagall looked skeptically at Remus, then nodded. "Of course, Remus," she said in a tender, caring voice. She whipped around on Sirius. And using a completely different tone, a harsh tone, she said, "Come on, you." She grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him towards the kitchens. Sirius winked at Remus before grudgingly ripping his arm out of McGonagall's claw-like grip.

===

"I don't know why you need to be here so early," Madam Pomfrey muttered disapprovingly. "The moon comes up at the same time."

"I just wanted to get away from Hogwarts earlier this time," Remus sighed.

"Fine, fine," she said exasperatedly. "Have a good night, then." She left the Shrieking Shack immediately.

Remus scoffed. "'Have a good night' indeed. I'm a bloody werewolf on the night of a full moon! How can I have a good night?!" he yelled to nobody once he heard the distant echo of the Whomping Willow.

A few minutes passed by. Remus's ears suddenly twitched. The swish of the willow's branches could be heard.

"Finally," he yelled down the tunnel. "I thought you guys would never show up."

"Now what would have happened, my dear Moony, if it had been Madam Pomfrey coming back through the tunnel and you shouted that, thinking it was us?"

James appeared at the doorway. He leaned against the side of it, giving off his usual smirk.

"I heard a rat squeak," Remus said stiffly.

"Do you know how many rats live in this place?" Peter asked, walking through the door seconds later. "I'm not the only rodent here you know."

"But I scare all the mice away," said Remus, sounding sick. "Or I eat them."

"They make good chew toys, don't they?"

Remus's heart leapt. "You made it!" he said excitedly to Sirius, who was stepping over a chair he had trashed a month ago.

"Do you really think detention could keep me away from this adventure?" he asked, smiling. But his smile didn't stay on for too long. "Moony, I just wanted to say—I'm sorry."

Remus sighed. "Me too, mate. It's just stupid of us to fight over a girl. No matter how great she is." He turned to James. "And Prongs, you asked how long I liked Lily, but not how much. I know for a fact that you care for her more than I ever could. I don't want Lily."

"Thanks mate," James said sincerely.

"So are we cool?" Remus asked Sirius.

"Well, we all know I'm incredibly hot, but yes, we're cool."

"Aw, group hug," Peter cried out.

They all laughed.

"I'm glad we settled this before tonight," Remus said, feeling rather relieved. It was as if a great burden had been lifted off from him.

"Yeah, you two seem to put things off until the last minute, don't you?" James said.

"The friend's job is to drive the others insane," Sirius said in a simple, matter-of-fact tone.

"What would I do without you guys?" Remus asked, giving a laugh.

"Bite yourself," Peter suggested.

"Are we going to Hogsmeade tonight?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"How 'bout we just stick to the school grounds?" James advised.

"Fine by me," Remus said.

"And me," Sirius and Peter said together.

Silence came as the moonlight flooded the beaten-up room.

"Oh bloody hell," groaned Remus. "Here we go again…"

Remus's teenage body started to shake violently. As his bone crunched and cracked, his figure lengthening onto four legs, he gave a howl of pain.

James, Sirius, and Peter grimaced. They could never get over the sight of Remus in such pain. They looked at each other.

"Let's go help out our friend," said Sirius.

They nodded and, seconds later, they too, were each on four legs.

The werewolf looked at the four other animals in the room with him. He recognized their scent and knew they were no threat or enemy of him. They were his best friends.

A/N: If anyone noticed, I changed my summary…

I'm surprised there are no X-Men fans out there; no one pointed out Piotr Rasputin in chapter 15! It's Colossus, people!

Aren't you just proud of me for updating so quickly (quicker than last time, at least)? I just hope you all like this chapter!

Reviewers:

Thanks to **lovablechick213**, **Mangoes2oo5**, **anonymous**, **Lali-chan**, **pieceocake** (er…), **DracosPrincess16**, **ladedodadae**, **Niphredel Black**, and **halcyone**. Loved your reviews!

**Flaignhan**: You know, the double ending thing isn't a bad idea. I might not use it, but it's not a bad idea… Yeah, I've been reading that "Falling Into Love" for quite some time. It is a good one.

**MasteroftheFlame**: Are you sure you can really call yourself a "master of the flame"? You've gone off your Pyro craze for awhile. Tsk tsk… And don't worry! I'll put your bloody line in there later! Be patient! Thanks. (Like the name Zoë LeBeau in this chapter?)

**Eman**: I will show just a little in the future once Harry and Hermione travel back to their own time. Well, I might. I'm pretty sure I will, but I'm stopping myself from promising anything, 'cuz I have this bad habit of changing the story a little (as you can see). Thanks!

**Magicalferret**: Let me guess, you're a fan of Slytherin boys? I'm sorry, but Slytherins, all Slytherins, are staying evil and hated in my story. No Hermione and Snape. And Hermione couldn't be a secret Animagus. This is taking place right after their fifth year. She never would have had the time to become one. But I was playing with that idea! Thanks!

**Doodler Girl**: Huh, you read my mind. Here is your full moon chapter. I loved the Quidditch game, especially when Snape was ridiculed by the commentator (don't you just love her name, Amanda Carrick?). Have at thee! –pokes you with a pencil-

**Blondekat3**: Three days good for you? And I really did want to show that Hermione is a plain, hormone-y teenage girl too, underneath all that smartness and maturity. Thanks!

**Kat**: I know. I know that my time-traveling is completely messed up. But this way was easier. You are right… I'm a bad person. I actually watched all three Back to the Future movies just to see what time-traveling was like, to refresh my memory. But I ignored it. Oh well. My way does make the story more interesting, non? Thanks!

**Dawn1**: No Draco story, but there will be Sirius action (not saying that end up together). I promise. Thanks!

Just incase anyone cared, I have reached my 204th page. I'm so excited! Yay!


	17. Chapter 17: Don’t Change Anything

**Chapter 17: Don't. Change. Anything.**

The beaming sunlight poured into the Hospital Wing, but Remus Lupin did not see it. His closed eyes and the heavy curtains that hung limply around his bed frame blocked off the entire beautiful scene set outside. Madam Pomfrey had forbidden any visitors before noon for the lonely werewolf, so the only thing Remus had for company was his stinging and itching scars and, of course, his thoughts.

Remus had been twiddling his thumbs, trying to guess what time it was and how far away from the end of lunch it was when he heard yelling from the entrance of the Hospital Wing. He sat up straight, straining his ears to catch everything. Thankfully, the familiar voices were at a high volume, so he could look easily relaxed.

"I did not set anything on fire, Poppy!"

"Mr. Black, one, how else could young Mr. Black's bed catch on fire? And two, how many times have I asked you not to call me by my first name?"

"I'll tell you a secret about Regulus, _Madam Pomfrey_," came Sirius's voice. "You know how some kids wet the beds? Well, he sets fire to them in his sleep… Been doing that ever since he was five-years-old… We really hoped he'd have stopped by now…" Sirius managed to sound disappointed in his brother, which infuriated the young nurse even more.

"Oh, just go visit Mr. Lupin and be gone!" Madam Pomfrey said frustratingly.

Remus heard footsteps coming closer and closer to his bed.

"Good morning, Moony!" Sirius bellowed as he violently tore open the curtains. He strode to the edge of Remus's bed in a buoyant fashion and plopped down on the space where Remus's legs didn't occupy, his head bobbing up and down.

"Good morning," said Remus cautiously. He looked at James and Peter, who had just entered. "Okay, why are you so cheerful?"

"It's just a great day outside, no prospect of homework in the near future, and I'm not fighting with my friends," Sirius said, still bouncing on the bed. "Is there any other reason I should consider?"

Remus turned to his other two friends.

"Don't ask me," James said, holding up his hands. "He's been like this ever since we left the Whomping Willow."

"And he won't shut up," Peter whined.

"We've tried nearly everything," James said.

"Food."

"Sleep."

"Girls."

"He just won't stop!"

Remus chuckled. "I'm glad you've started annoying your friends already, Padfoot."

"Eh, just doing my job," Sirius said. He looked back and forth between his friends. "So… how are you feeling?" he asked, resting his eyes on Remus.

"Well, all right for being a werewolf," Remus said quietly, the sarcasm so prominent that even James could sense it.

"Hermione asked where you were," Peter said abruptly. Everyone turned to look at him. "We said you weren't feeling well."

"Er, thanks for telling me, Wormtail," said Remus uncertainly. He paused, his features growing fearsome. "What about Harry? What did he say? He was left alone, in our dormitory room, and all you guys weren't there all night! He's going to suspect something!"

"Remus, calm down," Sirius said.

"We told him that we spent the night setting up a prank on the Slytherins," James said.

"And he believed you?" Remus said, laughing.

"Well, it seemed as if he did," Peter said indecisively.

"What do you mean by that?" Remus asked suddenly, sitting up from the gigantic amount of pillows behind him. He ignored the smarting in his back from a cut he suspected James had given him the previous night and continued to look between his three friends. "Well?"

"Harry, when we told him, looked as if he was worried, but relaxed and asked how you were doing."

"Excuse me, coming in," rang Madam Pomfrey's voice. She opened the curtains. "Oh, you all are still here, eh? I need to check on how young Mr. Lupin is doing."

"Is it all right, Madam Pomfrey, if they stay here?" Remus asked politely. "I don't feel that bad, actually."

"Fine, yes, whatever you wish," she said absently. James, Sirius, and Peter beamed from their spots. "But you, Black," she said sharply, pointing at the bobbing Sirius. "Get off the bed." Sirius obliged with bow. Madam Pomfrey started to unwrap the bandage that was previously wound right around Remus's arm. "Well I'm surprised, Mr. Lupin. Last night, apparently you didn't beat yourself up too badly… In fact, hardly at all… Curious…"

Remus smiled at his friends. "So does this mean I can leave earlier?" he asked hopefully.

"Take this potion, rest for a few minutes, and then you can leave." Madam Pomfrey handed him a slightly smoking purple drink and shuffled off, giving Sirius a glare.

"Why does she hate me?" Sirius asked innocently as Remus shot the potion down his throat in one go.

Remus gave a loud choking sound, made a horrible face, but answered Sirius's question all the same. "Maybe it's because you send half of the kids here all the time? Or maybe it's because you set fire to your brother's bed, who is here because of you and your pranks? Just a guess…"

"Eh, maybe," Sirius said, giving a smirk. He looked around anxiously. "So, can we go now?"

"Impatient much?" Remus asked with a laugh. "Nah, I gotta wait a minute or two for the potion to settle down."

"Aw, come on," Sirius whined. "Do we really need to wait? Why don't you just get into your clothes and we can be off? That'll give you some 'resting time'."

Remus sighed, but looked down at his pajamas. "Fine, you rash little bugger. Hand me my clothes?"

Sirius gave a little "Yippee!" and tossed a pair of pants and a sweater into Remus's surprised face.

Minutes later, they all walked out of the Hospital Wing.

"So what homework shall we start on now?" Remus asked his friends. He asked them just to hear them groan. He wasn't disappointed. After the collective moan, they all stopped in mid-step and looked at Remus as though they had never seen anyone quite like him before.

"How about the one on invisibility?" Sirius suggested, recovering quickly.

"We have homework on invisibility?" Remus asked, confused.

"Yeah, but, oh darn… we misplaced it, being invisible and all," Sirius said. "Oh well, now we can't do it any more."

Harry and Hermione were walking down the hall while the Marauders gave a wave of hearty laughter. The twosome had been talking in hushed voices, but Harry yelled down the corridor at the sight (and sound) of all four Marauders.

"Hey mates!" Harry and Hermione walked quickly to meet them.

"Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked.

"Much," Remus said convincingly, giving a bright smile.

Harry was not looking at Remus, but was staring James's left hand. "James, could I see that newspaper for a moment please?" he asked worriedly.

He looked at Harry strangely but handed over the _Daily Prophet_.

_Brothers Linus and Pietro Zwinkowski Brutally Murdered _was the head title. Harry gasped out loud but swore inside his head. Ignoring the inquiring looks from his other friends, he continued to read. The two brothers had been killed by a total of seven Death Eaters. They had, from the eyes of viewer Alastor Moody, gone down fighting a brave fight.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked finally when she noticed Harry's eyes had stopped moving from line to line on the paper.

"Er, nothing," he lied. "I just remember, Professor—Aylward wanted to talk to us," he said, looking at Hermione. She was about to ask what Harry was talking about, but noticed the urgency in his eyes.

"Oh, right," Hermione said, understanding immediately. She turned to the other four boys, who each had completely puzzled expressions. "We'll see you four later."

Harry and Hermione rushed speedily off to their left, not looking at each other until they disappeared around another corner.

"They _do _know that Aylward's office is the other way, right?" Peter asked the Marauders. They shrugged and continued walking straight down the hall. But not without the thought of Harry and Hermione. What had been in the newspaper to spark this certain oddity?

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked. They were finally out of the Marauder's eye sight.

Harry looked up and down the corridor. He spotted Mundungus Fletcher and Saumya Kim walking down the hall, not acting quite so sober.

"An' then, if ye believe it, I get kicked out!" hiccuped Mundungus, leaning on Saumya's unsteady shoulder. "A life-time ban from Hogs Head…"

Harry pulled Hermione into an empty classroom off to his left by her elbow. He shoved the newspaper into her hands as they leaned against one of tall desks in the spare classroom. She looked questionably at him for a moment, but read the paper.

"Why did I read this?" Hermione asked as she laid down the article on a nearby desk, having read the entire article.

"More than a year ago, while staying at Grimmauld Place for the summer, I over heard Moody and another Order member," said Harry, sounding very uneasy and his voice quivering. Hermione nodded, patiently waiting for Harry to explain. "Well, Moody was listing off the losses the Order had had, to prove a point, I think, of an argument they were having. He kept on going about these two great Aurors, the Zwinkowski brothers. They were great in their field, until seven Death Eaters picked both of them off."

"Oh," Hermione said.

"Hermione, I knew they were going to die!" Harry yelled.

"Shh!" Hermione hissed. She turned around and put a silencing charm on the door and locked it, just incase Harry wouldn't be able to hold in his anger again.

"I knew they were going to die a horrible death," he said again. Hermione was right; he couldn't suppress his anxiety and frustration… or his volume. "And I did nothing," he finished in a hollow tone. He looked up at Hermione. "We could save so many people. We could stop some of the pain that's happening here. Why can't we just warn Dumbledore and—"

"No," Hermione intervened sharply.

"Look, I know in our third year, you said we can't be seen while time-traveling, but it's too late for that!" Harry said exasperatedly. "So why not help out?"

"Because everything is supposed to happen for a reason," she said, her voice steely and cold. "Everyone was meant to do what they do. The death of one could lead to the living of another. And we're going to have to bear with the fact that we know of all these deaths happening and can't do a thing…. We can't save the old Order members. We can't save their families." Her eyes started to red and puffy; she gave a sniff. She was starting to realize how painful, indeed, this trip was going to get for her. "We can't even save your parents or Sirius! God, do you know how much we're putting at risk by just being here?"

Harry was alarmed at this sudden outburst. But he knew just what to do. Harry put a comforting arm around Hermione, pushing her back so they both sat on top of a desk. He let her cry lightly into his shoulder. "Shh, it's okay. We just have to make it through this year, and then we'll be back in our own time," he said soothing. But he found no comfort in his words, and Hermione spoke up what he was thinking next.

"Back to a time where Voldemort is out to kill you? Where half of these people we've met are set to die? Where such injustice is in the air that it chokes us?" Hermione gave a hollow, mirthless laugh. "Oh, yes. What a wonderful world that is."

"What other choice do we have?" Harry said.

"None," Hermione said. She sat up. She wiped away those rebellious tears and took a deep breath. "But aren't you going to miss them?" Hermione asked softly.

Harry gazed deeply into her toffee eyes. He knew she had meant the Marauders and Lily. "Of course I'm going to miss them… I finally found my family, the one thing I yearn for deep inside my heart, and I know I have to leave them. It's more painful than anyone can imagine." He looked away.

Hermione straightened her skirt and stood up. "Well Harry, we'll get through this _together_, one day at a time."

Harry hopped to his feet, hitching that smile back onto his face. "Thanks, Hermione." He held out his arm. "Together?"

She smiled and looped her own into his. "Together."

And they walked out the door, ready for anything that was thrown their way.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

"Remus, any teachers yet?"

"All clear down here… Hey, that rhymed!"

"Focus Moony!" James yelled into the two-way mirror. (A/N: Remember those things?) "Okay, Harry, Sirius, and I are ready to go… Is there anyone coming down this corridor?" James asked again.

"The corridor is completely empty," said Remus, his voice sounding crystal clear through the mirror. "Peter's warning must've worked."

"Good," James said. He looked sideways to Harry and Sirius, who were anxiously standing at the beginning of the hallway. "We're going to do the spell now, okay? So don't interrupt."

The four Marauders and Harry spent all of Sunday devising a new "cause of mischief, but in no way a prank" as Remus put it. Remus was standing guard, ready to alert James, Sirius, and Harry if anyone was coming their way. Peter was busy telling any student that wandered near the hallway that it had been closed off until further notice. James, Sirius, and Harry were performing the actual spell itself.

It was Remus who had thought up of the idea, and Harry and James fine-tuned it to perfection. They were going to bewitch that corridor where Remus was guarding so that when ever anyone walked through it, a spell would trigger. That spell was a complex Color-Change Charm. The skin of the person would change to the color best reflecting their mood, and it would keep changing from color to color for the next two days.

"Wait…" Remus said from the mirror.

"What?" James asked exasperatedly, holding it up to his face again.

"What are the colors again?"

"I don't know. Here's Sirius. He knows."

"Well, that's a first," mused Remus.

"Shut it," Sirius said after James handed over his mirror. "And get your fingers off of my mirror!" he growled, sounding outraged. "You'll get finger smears all over it!" Remus sighed, but slid his finger to the brim. "Now, about the colors…

"Red is energetic, bold, or adventurous. Pink is perky, flirty, or prissy. Orange is annoyed, embarrassed, or troubled. Yellow is happy, joking, or cautious. Green is envious, egotistical, or greedy. Blue is mellow, thoughtful, shy, or sad. Purple is deep, creative, or sleepy. And black is reckless, rebellious, or angry." (A/N: You'd do well to remember these feelings and colors, because it is useful later on.)

"Er… I only wanted to know which colors we were using," Remus said timidly. "Not a full description."

"Why didn't you tell me that before I started?!" Sirius asked, sounding rather miffed.

"Can we carry on with the spell? Peter can't give us too much more time," James said, standing beside Sirius.

"Fine," Sirius said huffily. "Warn us, Lupin," he said strictly. And he pocketed the mirror before Remus could reply. "Ready?" he asked, turning to his other friends.

"Ready," James and Harry answered, whipping out their wands.

First they had to add a trigger the entrance of the corridor, which was a complex spell, but James and Sirius had mastered it two years previous. Then, they had to add a Color-Change Charm to the trigger. The most difficult aspect of this spell was the mood changes. Remus had taught them the incantation. All they had to do was hope for the best. Lastly, they had to make sure these different charms that were molded into one spell would only lasted for so long, and after a time, they would wear off.

They had spent minutes of framing the spells into the corridor.

"Finally," Sirius breathed.

"How will we know if it works?" Harry asked.

"Test trial?" James suggested.

"Well thanks for volunteering, James," Sirius said, patting his friend on the back. "We appreciate it."

"Ooo, I hate you guys," James joked as he strode forward towards the entrance. He stood on the edge, shut his eyes tightly closed, and stepped through the invisible barrier.

Sirius and Harry both keeled over from laughter. Right before their very eyes was a fire-engine red James. He looked down at his hands and joined in with the laughing. It was a strange sight indeed.

James raced to Sirius and took the mirror out of his pocket. "Remus! It works!" James yelled into the mirror, sounding like a five-year-old who had just earned a cookie.

Remus looked in the mirror and a hearty guffaw. "So I see," Remus managed to say. "Okay, I'll find Peter and start spreading the news that the corridor is back to normal. Make yourselves scarce!"

"Right-o!" James saluted his friend off and stored his mirror safely in his pocket. He turned to his friends. "Let's go!"

"Er, don't we have to extend the spell to the entire corridor?" Harry asked.

"We will once we get to the end of it," Sirius said. He started to run with James, joined by Harry.

"And it's no fun to do a brilliant prank, and then get caught right afterwards," James said.

"Eh, right."

They raced to the end where it met an intersection of another corridor.

"Ready?" James asked. The other two nodded. "One… two… three!" They held out their wands, focused on the faraway entrance they were just at, and yelled "_Extendius!_"

There came a whoosh of air as the spell came towards them. It ended a foot away form them. The air through the entire corridor had a slight shimmer to it, but nothing too noticeable. Sirius and Harry turned to leave, but James grabbed the back of their cloaks, spun them around, and pushed them into the corridor. "You're turn!" he yelled.

Harry and Sirius stumbled into the spell barrier. Instantly, their skin tones changed color. Sirius had turned a deep, rich black, while Harry had turned yellow.

James was laughing so hard that tears were forming on his bright red skin. "You two… are so…_funny_ looking!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius said moodily. "You know, the original plan was to watch everyone else looked like a rainbow, not ourselves!"

They started towards another corridor.

"But it's more fun this way!" James said, laughing still while running.

They wound up on the floor above their spell.

"And the best part is," Harry said when they finally stopped in front of a statue of Eris the Impish, "that we put it on the same floor as the main Transfiguration room. Almost everyone has that class today."

"Yeah, and the fact that many people use that way to get to the Great Hall," James added, his grin widening on his red face.

Seconds later, a black Remus and Peter came walking up.

"You didn't tell us that the _entire_ corridor was jinxed," Remus growled.

"Oh, Moony," James said with his cocky grin, "I forgot to tell you, the entire corridor was jinxed."

"Thanks," Remus said sarcastically.

All of a sudden, James was turning from red to yellow.

"HA!" Sirius burst out. "That looks so funny on you, Prongs!" And he continued to laugh and had to lean on the statue for support.

James looked down at his hands, then at Sirius. "Oh Padfoot, look at yourself."

Sirius's black skin was fading into a sunshine-yellow. "Oh, today is going to be an interesting day indeed."

"Pay attention, Black, Potter, Thewler!" snapped Professor McGonagall, her skin glowing a bright orange. It was the end of Transfiguration class, and Sirius, James, and Harry were discussing (and making fun of) everyone's skin tone at the back of the classroom. "Just try to focus for the last minutes of class," she said, sounding exasperated.

"Yes, Professor," James, Sirius, and Harry said at once, managing to keep a straight face.

Professor McGonagall, however, remained orange for the rest of the class time.

"Oh, did you see Stebbin's face when McGonagall called on him?" James laughed. All five Gryffindor boys walked out of Transfiguration with smiles on and their faces shining yellow.

"I suppose you five are to be blamed for my skin condition?" drawled a voice from behind them. They all looked over their shoulders to meet a glowing-orange Lily Evans.

"And who else is brilliant enough to complete such a feat?" Sirius asked, turning egotistical-green.

"You don't like it, Lily?" James asked.

"Does it look as if I like it?" Lily snapped back, but it had less venom that usual. "My skin is a billboard for my inner feelings!"

"What's a billboard?" Sirius asked.

"But you can't say your not impressed by our skills," Remus asked.

Lily gazed at him coldly. "You're turning green," she said distastefully.

"You don't think it's an improvement to the student body?" asked James. He was starting to fade into a pink tone when he looked at Lily. "I mean, people won't be able to mask their feelings anymore. Everything will be out in the open."

"Like the fact that you're feeling flirty right now?" Lily asked, stifling a sudden burst of laughter.

"What?" James asked, confused.

"I saw that list of colors and feelings that Peter had put up on most of the boards around the school and read them," Lily said. James continued to stare at her. "James, you're pink right now."

"What?!" James hurriedly looked at his hands. In his worry, his skin turned to an orange.

"I'm especially glad of that color," Harry said as if talking about the weather.

"Yeah, pink has great feelings to show," agreed Remus in a casual voice.

"Shut it, you two," James said.

Lily giggled and left to her other friends. The five boys continued to walk to the Great Hall for dinner. They were enjoying watching McFly turning green when he was giving a play-by-play of a Quidditch match he had played last year to a seventh year girl, when something else caught the Marauder's eyes. Snape was leaning against the wall, absorbed into an article from a magazine.

"Hey, look at Snivellus," James whispered excitedly to his other four friends.

Snape continued to read his magazine, his skin blue, but someone, a certain someone caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He looked up from his magazine to find Professor Smirch walking past, talking to a seventh year Slytherin. Snape's blue skin instantly turned to a tickle-me-pink color as he watched Smirch walk down the rest of the corridor. Snape sighed, but felt someone's gaze upon him. He shifted his attention and looked straight at the Marauders. He instantaneously changed color to a worried-orange and rested on a fury-filled black.

Before Snape could curse them, Harry dragged James and Sirius into the Great Hall. Remus and Peter followed, Peter shooting Snape an evil look.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Sirius growled through a choke. Harry had him by the collar.

"You don't need another trip to the Hospital Wing today," Harry said. He continued to pull them to their regular spot at the Gryffindor table.

"You don't think we're a match for Snivellus?" Sirius asked, outraged.

"No, but I don't want him sent to the Hospital Wing either," Harry said, his skin growing black.

"Why not?!" James and Sirius asked loudly. They sat down on the bench huffily, folding their arms.

"Does he really deserve it?" Harry asked. His skin was wavering between a black and blue. "Does he really deserve to be ridiculed?"

"Yes!" James and Sirius answered.

"You're not going to change their minds," Remus told Harry. "They've got it set to make sure Snape has a bad stay at Hogwarts."

"You've never had a problem with it before," Sirius said hotly.

"But this spell is torment enough for him," Remus said. James and Sirius were silent against their will; they wanted to know what Remus was talking about. "Snape can harbor feelings and hide them away, but this spell will show his true colors. Isn't that enough embarrassment? He'll probably turn pink every time during Defense class. That's got to be torture."

James sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am."

"You know Remus," said a girl as she walked towards them, "I expected James and Sirius to turn green, but never you."

Hermione sat down opposite of Harry, her skin shimmering pink.

"Feeling perky, Mione?" James asked.

"Why, yes, James, I am," Hermione said, her grin widening.

"And why exactly?" Harry asked.

"I just talked to Professor Proudfoot, and he said I passed the test with flying colors!" Hermione said, bouncing up and down in her seat. She grabbed the potatoes and piled them on her plate.

"Good for you," Harry said.

'Yeah, that test was hard," Remus said. "I wonder how I did on it…"

"Oh, I asked if I got the highest score, and he said it was tied… between me and you!" Hermione said happily.

"Oh good," Remus sighed.

"But I wanted to congratulate you four boys on this spell—"

"Five," interrupted Harry.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Five boys," Harry corrected her. "I helped."

"Huh," Hermione said, her voice carrying worry (her skin turned orange for just a second before returning to a cheerful pink). "Well, that was pretty advanced magic to bewitch an entire corridor with spells that you molded together."

"Don't praise them!" Lily said, scandalized. "That's just encouraging them!"

"I guess you're right," Hermione said with a sigh. "But you must admit it was impressive magic."

"All right, so many seventh years could not do that, but still—can't you use your powers for good?" Lily asked them.

"Don't you know the slogan of the Marauders?" James asked her as if asking a child.

"'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" Sirius said. "It speaks for itself."

"And anyways," Harry said, "they use their 'powers' to pass school, so they're not all that bad."

"Thanks, Harry… I think," James said. The other Marauders laughed.

Lily said nothing more that meal.

Harry lay in front of the fire that night with Hermione and Lily in the chairs next to him, all trying to complete their potions essay. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were up in their dormitory, and Harry got the impression they wanted to talk alone.

"Harry," Lily said, looking over his shoulder from her perch. "You mixed the order of the potion. First it's the moonstones, and then the newt eyes."

"Thanks," Harry said, scratching out his mistake.

Upstairs, the Marauders were having a "serious" discussion.

"What do you mates think about Harry?" James asked. He had been thinking for quite some time, his skin a deep purple.

Remus looked up from folding his clothes. Peter stopped eating sugar quill from his bed to think about James's question. Sirius just lay down on his bed, leaning his back against on of the bedposts.

"What about him?" Sirius asked.

"Well, do you think he's cool?"

"Duh, he's our friend, isn't he?" Sirius said haughtily.

"Good friend?" James asked.

"What are you getting at, Prongs," Remus asked slowly, taking a seat on his bed.

"Well, I've been thinking about Thewler… and how's he's been a really good friend to us all…"

"Get on with it," Sirius growled.

James shot him a glare that obviously said 'Shut up, you impatient little blighter'. "Well, I was thinking about… inviting him to be a Marauder."

Everyone in the room was silent.

"You sure he's Marauder material?" Sirius asked at last.

"Yeah, there's just something about him that I like," James said.

"But… You don't feel as if he is hiding something from us?" Peter asked.

"Sometimes," James agreed. "But it's not like we have been entirely truthful about ourselves either."

"Yes we have," Peter said indignantly.

"Wormtail, when are you going to get it through your head that we run with a werewolf every month?" Sirius asked in a weary tone, his skin glowing orange.

Wormtail shimmered orange, too, out of embarrassment. "Oh yeah…"

"So you are proposing that we ask this boy, who we've only know for less than three months, to join the most elite group at Hogwarts that breaks more rules than any kid knows?" Sirius asked, rubbing his temples. "You want him to know about Remus's lycanthropy? About us as Animagi? About the Marauder's Map (which we're still working on)? About everything we've worked hard to keep a secret for the past six years?"

James looked thoughtful. "Yep, that's about it."

"Wow," Peter whispered. "You really trust this guy, don't you James?"

"Yeah, I really do…"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?" Peter asked.

"I guess so… That is, unless you two don't want to," James said to Sirius and Remus.

"I trust your judgment, James," Sirius said sincerely.

"Do you really think he'll accept… us?" Remus asked.

"You mean your werewolf-iness?" Peter asked.

"Yes, to put it in simple terms," Remus said. He looked at James and Sirius, expecting an answer.

"Harry seems like a guy who wouldn't leave his friends just because of their background," James said.

"All right, if you say so," Remus said, still a trace of worry in his voice.

"Great. I'll call him up," James said excitedly. He ran out of the room and down the staircase. "Harry!" He called out, looking wildly around the common room. "Ah, Harry," James said, running over to the fireplace. "Oh, hello Lily, Hermione. Sorry, but could I borrow Harry?" He flashed a grin at Lily before turning to Harry, who had just sat up from his comfortable position.

"Yeah, James?" he asked, sounding tired. Potions took a lot out of him.

"Could we see you upstairs for a moment?" he asked, suddenly sounding very businesslike.

"Yeah, sure," he said through a yawn. Harry scrambled up and followed James out of the common room.

"Sit down, young Harry," James said as they entered their dormitory.

"What's this all about?" Harry asked through a grin he couldn't suppress.

"We've been having a talk, the Marauders," James said, still sounding professional. "Talking about you."

"Any good stuff?" Harry asked.

"Quite." A blue James sat on his bed. "We wanted to know if you were interested in being a Marauder."

Harry's skin turned from yellow to red and yellow again. "Really?" he asked, sounding quite thrilled.

The four Marauders looked at each other.

"Yep."

It was not James who had answered, but Remus.

"But you must know that we all harbor some deadly secretive secrets," Sirius said seriously. "For one, you should know that—"

"Wait!" Harry cried out. He stepped back in his mind and thought about the situation. He was being asked join the Marauders. What would this lead to? He would learn everything about all of them, Animagi and werewolf that they are. He really wasn't good at deciphering what would change time and what would not. He needed to talk to someone who would understand things like that… "Can I—not to sound rude or anything, but can I think about it before you tell me everything?"

"S—sure," James said, taken aback.

"Er, good. Can I—can I go now?" Harry asked. James raised his eyebrows. "I—er, need to finish that Potions essay." Harry avoided all eye contact as he left the room.

Sirius gave a guffaw. "Oh, _that _went well."

Harry flew down the stairs, taking four steps at a time. He entered the common room to find it empty once again, save two people by the fire. He ran over to the two girls.

"Hey Lily, do you think Hermione and I could have a minute alone?" Harry asked politely.

"Sure Harry, of course," Lily said courteously. "As you can tell," speaking disdainfully as she held out her purple hand, "I am quite tired. Good night."

Hermione watched her exit the common room, and then turned to Harry. "What is it?"

"Hermione, what would happen if I joined the Marauders?" Harry asked, trying to sound hypothetical, but his skin glowed an anxious orange.

"Well, first, you could disrupt the friendship between the Marauders in the future. They might trust you to do something that someone else was supposed to do. Of course, they'll tell you everything about themselves, and you could never tell them the truth, or they might find out the truth by what you tell them, and we want to avoid that at all costs. Also, it'll get uncomfortable lying all the time. You could also get too comfortable in this time that you'll never want to leave, not that you don't want to right now. Oh, this list could go on. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was just asked to join the Marauders," Harry groaned. He fell back into the chair opposite Hermione. "And I don't know what to do."

"What did you say to them?" Hermione asked at once.

"I said I had to think about it."

"You have to say no, Harry."

"But what's the difference between being their great friends and a Marauder?" Harry asked. He desperately wanted to join his father and be around him all the time, and being a Marauder would be a perfect way to spend time with him… make up for the fifteen years he had missed.

"Not much now, but it could well change the future more than we know." She sighed, shoving her parchment and quill into her bag by her feet. "We can't risk doing something that big. We just can't get too involved with people here, and they can't get too close to us. I know, we've been hanging around all the Gryffindors as if they were our regular classmates. But I just recalled Dumbledore's meeting at the end of September we had, remember? He said we 'cannot become attached to anything or anyone'.

"Well, I'm finding that actually hard at the moment, seeing as I'm starting to be friends with people in this time," Harry snapped back hotly. How come everything had to be taken away from him? Couldn't he just forget the rules for once and be with his father?

"You can be friends, yes, but you can't become so close—"

"Oh, that sounds funny coming from you," Harry interrupted. He couldn't hold it back. "You, who has been flirting with Sirius and Remus." He spat the last two names. They were cool friends, yes, but when your best friend fancies them… He shuddered at the thought.

"I was not," Hermione said at once, though she didn't convince Harry, let alone herself.

"Sure you weren't," Harry said, not sounding persuaded at the least.

"Look, you just can't be a Marauder," Hermione said strictly, sounding uncannily like Professor McGonagall.

Harry glared at her for a moment, but realized it wasn't her fault. It was his own mistake he was back in this time. His and the Weasley twins, but he could hardly blame two boys that weren't even born yet. He sighed. "All right."

"What are you going to tell them?" Hermione asked as she stood up.

"Er, that I don't want to be a Marauder?" he answered, more of a question. "I dunno. I'll think of something."

Hermione looked at him skeptically as they walked up to bed. He must have passed because she said, "All right. Just don't make it sound too suspicious. Good night!" She turned towards the girls' dormitories.

"Good night," Harry replied. He took a deep breath, and entered his dormitory.

"'Arry!" James cried out through a mouthful of what looked like several Chocolate Frogs. He chewed for a moment or two, and then swallowed, which looked difficult. "So… have you thought about us yet?"

"More like 'talked to Hermione yet'," Sirius muttered to himself, shifting through a bag of Beartie Botts.

James shot him a glare, but returned to look at Harry anxiously.

Harry hated the disappointment that would appear in his father's eyes once he told them no. He released a loaded sigh. "I think it'd be best if I—don't—become a 'Marauder'," he said with great difficulty.

"Why not?" James asked, the disappointment Harry had predicted shining in his eyes. "We don't mind, honestly."

"I know, but it's just that being a Marauder is something that takes years of knowing," Harry said, lying through his teeth. "And I don't want to disturb it. Just being friends with you guys is enough."

James and Sirius exchanged looks. "Well, if you're sure…" James trailed off.

"I'm sure," Harry said quickly. "Don't take it personally. It's just—I need to sort something out inside me and everything…" He gazed at the floor.

"Here, take a licorice wand," Sirius said. He tossed one to Harry, who caught it with ease. "Just don't think this'll get you out of buying Moony a present," he said with a smile.

"Moo—Remus? Is it your b—"

"You can call us by our nicknames, you know," James interrupted. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs. You can use them." He seemed determined to make Harry as comfortable as possible with the Marauders.

"Right… So, _Moony_, when is your birthday?" Harry asked.

Remus looked away from the window, which he had been staring out of ever since James suggested Harry join them. "Oh, November twenty-fourth, next Monday. And you really don't need to buy me a present," he said rather sheepishly.

"Of course I do," Harry said. James beamed. "I completely forgot about birthdays… I didn't miss anyone's, did I?"

"Nah, Sirius's is August fifteenth. Peter's is March first. Mine is January fifteenth," James explained, grabbing another sweet from a pile on his bed. His parents had sent him some candy to share with his friends.

"Isn't it funny that James and Sirius's birthdays are exactly five months apart?" Peter asked, munching on a pumpkin pasty.

Harry looked to Sirius, then James, and couldn't help but laugh. He should have guessed. "When is Lily's?" he asked.

"May twenty-fifth," James answered automatically. He looked oddly at Harry for a second. "You… you don't like her, do you?" he asked uncertainly. Harry opened his mouth to protest. "'Cuz she—she seems to like you."

"Nah. No offense James, but she's not my type," Harry said. "You don't mind, do you?" Harry asked, pointing towards the sweets pile.

"No, go ahead," James said quickly.

"Thanks," Harry said, grabbing a Chocolate Frog (Remus eyed him warily). "And all girls don't have to have a crush on you. They can like you as a friend, you know," he said, giving a chuckle.

"True," James said respectfully. He gazed at Harry for a second. "To friends," he said as a toast, holding up his Cauldron Cake as a wine glass at a fancy dinner party.

"To friends," Sirius, Remus, Harry, and Peter echoed, holding up their own sweets. They all laughed and continued to talk over a pile of candy. As good friends should.

A/N: Ya like? Sorry 'bout not having much RL-HG-SB action in this chapter. I just wanted to get across the fact that it is still really hard to be back in the 70's for Harry and Hermione. But try to guess what the next chapter is going to be about!

To my lovely reviewers:

Thanks to **DracosPrincess16**, **artemisgirl**, **Mangoes2oo5**, **mirel216**, **Roxxie-Hart** (have fun in Maine!), **khuu-khuu**, **Flaignhan**, **sapphire66**, **the girl at the rockshow**,** Dawn1,** **zenia**, and **Niphredel Black**. I love you guys!

**Doodler Girl**: You're a telepath! Wow! So… care to guess what the next chapter is about, oh all seeing one? There's going to be one more full moon, which is also a major plot line thingy, so wait a few more chapters and it'll be here! (Yes, I actually have a few chapters planned out. Oh my gosh!)

**MasteroftheFlame**: Sure, of course you're a Pyro… -coughNOTcough- And don't go stealing Pyro's lighter! It's not healthy. Trust me, I know. Thanks!

**stargazer**** starluver**: I'm glad you read my story, even if it isn't your usual. Thanks!

**Dancerchick314**: Yeah, I never thought about Remus and Lily together. But my friend is "an avid believer" of them, and she convinced me. (-cough MASTEROFTHEFLAME cough-) Thanks!

**lovely-lily-flower200**: Yep, I did. Did you get my review? I hope you update quickly! Thanks.

**Pieceocake**: As quoting one of my own lines… CALM DOWN! You impatient little bugger! Jeez. You'll just have to wait to find out what I have in store next for all of you readers.

A final note to all your READERS out there. Can you please review? I just love reading them. I don't care if it's criticism, what you found funny or interesting in my new chapters…or anything! I just love hearing from you all! Thanks again!


	18. Chapter 18: Birthday Surprise

**Chapter 18: Birthday Surprise**

The next morning, the Marauders were giving Harry the play-by-play of each Marauder's birthday. Every birthday, they would pull a prank, calling it the Birthday Surprise. A yellow Sirius and James (the Color-Mood spell was made to last a total of three days) were reliving their third year Birthday Surprise for Remus. It had involved bewitching Remus's old stuffed animal (a griffin) into running around the school, shouting insults at the top of its lungs.

"We also made sure that Remus would be the only one who could end the spell," James said between his gasps for breath.

"And the best part was that he was too embarrassed to actually admit it was his," said Sirius, his eyes reduced to slits as he laughed silently.

"And I remember that it was Professor McGonagall who finally cornered the little thing and made Remus change it back," Peter said, laughing shrilly.

"I take it you have another embarrassing trick up your sleeves for my birthday?" Remus asked in a bored voice. Either he was embarrassed or annoyed, because he skin was an unusually bright shade of orange.

"Your birthday? Is that coming up?"

Hermione, emitting a purple glow from her skin (she was pretty tired), sat down across from Remus and next to James. Lily appeared at her side seconds later.

"Er, yeah…" Remus said timidly. "It's the twenty-fourth."

"Of this month?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"Yep. The big seventeen for me," Remus said, as if it wasn't that important to him. But she could see it in his eyes that he was ecstatic.

"So you could take your Apparation test over the holiday," she mused out loud. "That's something."

"But it all seems pretty useless if you can't Apparate into or out of Hogwarts," Remus said idly.

Hermione's fork fell onto her plate with a _clank_. "You've—you've read _Hogwarts, A History_?" she asked breathlessly.

"Er, yeah, hasn't everyone?" Remus asked. James, Sirius, Peter, and Harry opened their mouths. "Other than you four," he added.

"Well, my friends never bothered to read it," Hermione said. She reached for the bacon. "They just expect me to tell about some information when it's needed."

"Exactly," Remus said, glad someone understood him. "That's what those three idiots do all of the time," he said, waving his hand passively at the other three Marauders. "And they trust me to do all the work when it comes time to work on our—"

"Yes?" Hermione said.

"Nothing," Remus said quickly. He had almost spilled the beans about the Marauder's Map. Hermione raised one eyebrow but questioned no further.

"So… anything you want for your birthday?" Hermione asked casually.

"Oh! You don't need to get me a present," Remus said at once.

"Yeah," Sirius interrupted, looking between Remus and Hermione, his eyes settling on the latter. "Don't bother asking him for what he wants. He doesn't even tell us. You really don't like birthdays, do you Moony?" he asked, giving Remus a sly look at he sipped his orange juice.

There was a sudden outburst by the doors that shifted everyone's attention, especially the Marauders.

"What do you mean 'we don't have proof'?" yelled a short of hysterical Snape. He was trotting behind a slightly peeved Professor McGonagall, his face contorted with rage. "It was Potter and Black! It's completely obvious!"

"I am sorry, Mr. Snape, but you have no evidence that _Mr._ Potter and _Mr._ Black performed that Color-Mood spell, and therefore they cannot be expelled," said a huffy Professor McGonagall.

"You mean they're going to get away with it?!" cried out Snape, his hysteria full throttle now.

"Unless someone caught them in the act or they confess themselves, I cannot give them as much as a detention," said McGonagall wearily. "So, please, Mr. Snape, go sit at you table and eat your breakfast."

Snape looked like a lost fish, his mouth opening and closing silently. He harrumphed, glaring after McGonagall. Turning his head sharply, he shot the most evilest glare at the four Marauders. They just smiled at him and waved back at the Slytherin boy, which angered him even more so. Snape looked like he could breathe fire at he angrily sat down in his spot at the Slytherin table.

"Did he seriously think that he could get us expelled from that measly little charm?" Sirius asked while shaking his head.

"He'll try anything to get us kicked out of here," James said, giving a laugh. "He just thinks that the littlest things can get us kicked out."

"Like transfiguring every single quill in the entire grounds of Hogwarts into a Billywig," Sirius pointed out, his eyes looking glazed as if he was reliving an old memory.

"Or trying to throw him into the lake," James added.

"Or flying a car to school," Harry mumbled.

"Hey, we've never done that," James said, his eyes starting to brighten.

"That's not a bad idea…" Sirius trailed off.

"Oh no you don't!" snapped Hermione and Lily harmoniously. "You could seriously be expelled from that," Lily said.

"Oh, Lily, I didn't know you cared," James said, giving a grin.

"I don't," she said sharply but never making eye contact with any of the Marauders. It may have been a trick of the light from the candles in the Great Hall, but it looked as her skin had wavered to a pink before settling back onto orange. "It'll just give Gryffindor a bad name if all of you got expelled."

"Sure Lily… we believe you," James said sarcastically.

"Wait, does this mean you've flown to school in a car?" Sirius asked curiously to Harry.

"What?" Harry yelped suddenly. "Oh, no. I'm not stupid enough to do that…" He avoided their looks. His eyes flashed to Hermione, who was smirking behind her forkful of fruit.

"Huh…" James said, unconvinced. "Could've fooled me," he said quietly before stuffing his face with bacon.

"Hey, I heard that," Harry said, glaring playfully at James.

James just gave an innocent look while he chewed his food, looking oddly like a cow.

"Well, we better go, since _someone _in our room wanted to sleep in today…" Hermione said, gazing pointedly at Lily.

"What? I was having a good dream," she said uncomfortably.

"About yours truly?" James asked slyly. His skin turned pink when he looked at Lily hopefully.

"You wish," Lily replied, finishing off the last of her fruit before standing up with Hermione. James's face fell when she didn't change her color. "See you all in Defense." And the two girls left.

"Er, we better get to Defense soon, too, mates," Remus said.

"But I haven't finished eating yet, Moony!" James complained.

"That's because you've been too busy staring at Lily throughout this entire breakfast," Remus said in an undoubtedly bored voice.

"Ouch," Peter commented.

"One point for Moony," Sirius said. "And it's only the beginning of the day."

James just glared at his four other friends (Harry had burst out laughing beforehand) as he piled in some eggs and bacon. They waited patiently (except Sirius) while James finally finished his breakfast.

"Are we still going through the duels or are we finished with those?" Peter asked as they walked up the stairs for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Naw, Harry was the last duelist," James said. He was fishing around in his bag hastily, as if making sure he had something.

"Missing something, Prongs?" Harry asked. He had quickly gotten comfortable with using the Marauder's nicknames.

James didn't comment but kept on searching in his bag. Seconds later, though, he let out a victorious "Ah ha!" and pulled out a piece of clean parchment. "I thought I'd lost it."

"Well, we all know you lost it along time ago, James," Remus said, "but what is that parchment for?"

"Another point to Remus," Sirius said in awe. He hadn't looked at the paper until that moment. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked James excitedly.

"Aye, it is," James said, unable to conceal his excitement.

"Mind letting us into this?" asked Harry.

"This is a great little something I bought at Zonko's," James started to say, rubbing the piece of parchment fondly before sticking it back into it's bag. "You see, it's a bit too small to hand in for a homework piece of paper, so it's most likely used to write notes on. What the beauty of it is, though, is that it speaks out whatever is written on the page once the writer is done with it."

"And let me guess," Harry said, grinning also, "you're going to lend it to one of our classmates, hoping that it'll reveal something embarrassing."

"Yes, but it's not who you think it'll be," James said. Harry gave a puzzled look. "Not Snivell—Snape," he said quickly, correcting himself at Harry's glare. "No, no it'll be someone more interesting…"

"Who…?" Harry started to ask.

"You'll find out, young Harry. Soon, you'll find out," James said wisely as they walked through the doors of the Defense classroom. Harry looked questionably at James but pushed no further. They sat in usual spots in the middle, right behind Lily, Hermione, Saumya, Katie Rawson, and Keegan MacTarnahan. Usually, the Marauders would sit in the back, but since Defense was taught by a Gryffindor alumni and definitely favored his old house (and the Marauders themselves), they thought it better to be closer.

Professor Aylward was busy at the front of the class. Perched on his arm was a hawk. He was feeding it and stroking its rich, deep brown feathers. When he noticed that everyone was in their seats, he slowly walked over to a large cage in the back and urged the powerful bird of prey inside. He faced the class once again, saw the puzzled looks on their faces, and explained. "Sorry, this is my pet hawk, Trouble. I was preparing it for my second years." He looked at a girl who had her hand raised up. "Yes, Miss MacTarnahan."

"Excuse me, but is it a Muggle bird? I mean, does it have any powers?" Keegan MacTarnahan asked quietly.

"No, it is not a common bird of prey," Aylward said, smiling at his students. "Even though a normal bird has keen eyesight and exceptionally good hearing, Trouble has all his senses three times more powerful than a normal bird. He also is very loyal to its master and can sense trouble a mile away."

"Remind me never to come into close contact with that bird," James whispered to Sirius. "I'd like to live to see myself turn seventeen." Sirius let out a quiet bark-like laugh.

"Have something to share with us, Mr. Black?" Aylward asked with a genuine smile.

"I just found it ironic that a bird that can sense trouble in a matter of seconds is actually called Trouble," Sirius said, smiling like mad.

"Yes, I found it ironic, too," Aylward agreed with a huge smile.

"Are we going to be talking about your _bird_, or are we actually, for once, going to learn something about the actual topic of Defense Against the Dark Arts?" sneered a Slytherin girl in the back of the classroom. The Marauders turned in their seat to find it was Daemos Eckhart, the heartless Slytherin Prefect.

Aylward's grin faded just a little. He looked at the direction of the girl, who cowered just an inch. "Miss Eckhart. I would appreciate it if you spoke to me as you would to Professor McGonagall: courteously and respectfully."

Daemos looked as if she was biting back a fierce comment.

"Good," Aylward said cheerfully, clapping his hands. "Will you all please open your books to page 91 and start reading. Once you're done, I want you all to write out five main points of the section." He glanced at James's raised hand. "Don't worry James, it's a short read." The class chuckled. "We'll discuss them once you are all finished."

Everyone head's suddenly bent down over their books to quickly finish the reading.

It was Hermione and Lily who had finished the assignment first. With nothing to do, Lily went through her bag for a scratch piece of paper to write Hermione note on. To her dismay, she found that she had no spare parchment. Feeling disgusted with herself, she turned around to ask the people behind her for some.

James Potter looked up from his book to find Lily Evans staring at him. He lifted his glasses and rubbed his eyes, not believing the green-eyed beauty in front of him.

"James, do you have a spare bit of parchment I could use?" Lily whispered in a monotone voice.

He looked over her shoulder to find the assignment complete and laid neatly on her book. Why would she need paper if not to write an assignment on?… "What's that?" he asked, not bothering to keep his voice down.

Professor Aylward looked up from his papers which he was correcting at the moment. He saw Lily turned around in her seat, her cheeks blushing.

"Is there a problem, Miss Evans?" he asked.

Lily's head snapped to Professor Aylward. Her blush increased. "No, Professor. I was just asking James for some paper."

Aylward nodded, masking a grin, and went back to correcting some first year's homework.

Lily quickly turned back to James, giving him a glare, but found him holding out a small piece of parchment. She tore it out of his hands and while giving an angry sniff, she turned back around in her seat.

_Why does James have to be so obnoxious?_ Lily wrote on the paper. She slid it over to Hermione, who was spinning her quill uninterestedly in her hand. Hermione grabbed the paper, read it, and glanced at Lily before writing back.

_Why do you care so much? Would you actually go out with him if he wasn't that annoying?_

Hermione discreetly gave the note back to Lily. She felt Lily think for a moment before the red-head bent over the parchment again.

_Well, there's no point in denying that he's not good looking._

Once Hermione read Lily's entry, she gave her friend an inquiring look, but replied straight away.

_What would happen if you actually gave him a chance?_

_I guess I—_Lily started to write, but stopped abruptly.

All of a sudden, through the eerily silenced classroom, a voice (sounding oddly like Lily's) started to speak, clear and crisp. To Hermione's, but mostly Lily's horror, the paper they had been writing on starting to speak out its contents.

"Why does James have to be so obnoxious?" the paper said. Everyone's heads snapped up at the sound of Lily's voice. They looked around at Lily, who had her face buried in her arms, probably blushing up a storm, and then at the paper, and finally at the smirking Marauders.

"Why do you care so much?" the paper continued, this time with the voice of Hermione. She turned around and heavily gazed at James, Sirius, and Harry, who were all paralyzed with laughter. "Would you actually go out with him if he wasn't that annoying?

"Well, there's no point in denying that he's not good looking," the paper said, using Lily's voice once again.

James's laughing abruptly stopped as he stared wide-eyed at Lily's huddled figure in front of him. This only made Sirius and Harry laugh hardly, Sirius giving his friend a playful elbow in the side.

"What would happen if you actually gave him a chance?" the paper carried on.

"I guess I—" and the paper stopped talking.

"What?!" Sirius yelled through his barking laughter. "It just had to stop there, didn't it?" Harry nodded numbly. This was just too perfect.

Professor Aylward had been watching the scene with great amusement. He could have done something to stop it, but he felt that things should be carried on without his help… until it was done. "Well, that was enlightening," he said aloud, his good-natured smile shining. The class laughed. "Now that that's over, are you all finished with the lesson review?" Everyone murmured a yes. Lily's head peaked over her folded arms which lay on her desk. "Good. Now, who wants to share their list?"

"James, that was excellent," Harry congratulated his father once they walked out of the Defense room.

"Not to be green or anything, but I must agree that I am a genius," James said, puffing out his chest. He saw Lily walking all too fast down the hall, Hermione trying to catch up with a grin on her face. "I never knew Evans thought I was hot."

Sirius barked out a laugh. "She used the words 'good looking', as I remember."

"Same thing," James said, waving his wand.

"Here's a tip, Prongs," Harry said. "Don't call the girl you fancy by her last name. Do you think she deserves to be called the same way you call Snape?"

James's face looked suddenly horrified. "You're—you're right! I've been so stupid—"

"Finally, you realize it," muttered Remus.

"Ow! Another point for Remus," Sirius said in awe. "Does turning seventeen do something to people's wittiness?"

"I'm not even going to answer that idiotic question," Remus said, rubbing his temples. "But if it's true, I wish you could turn seventeen soon, because you could definitely use a dosage of this wittiness you speak of."

"See what I mean?" Sirius asked, not speaking to anyone directly.

"Come on," James said, quickening their pace. "I want to finish my homework as soon as possible."

Sirius, Peter, and Harry sped up while Remus just kept on slowly walking.

"Hell has frozen over. James wants to study," Sirius laughed.

"_Why_, James, do you want to do homework when you don't have to?" Remus asked.

"I want to finish all my homework before this weekend," James said over his shoulder.

"Why?"

"So it can be free for Hogsmeade—to buy you a present!" James answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Remus stopped dead in the middle of the crowded corridor. "I don't want a present!"

**

* * *

**

"Shh!"

"What?"

"I said, _shh!_"

"Moony, it's broad daylight in an empty corridor! What's going to happen?"

"Do you really want me to answer that, Padfoot?"

Pause. "No."

"Now young Harry," James said, ignoring his other two friends at the moment. "You are being blessed with one of the many Marauder Secrets."

"Blessed?" Harry repeated, fighting against his laughter.

"Yes, now don't interrupt. We are sharing with you the secrets of how to sneak out the castle into Hogsmeade without getting caught." James looked anxious. "Ready?"

The four Marauders were leading Harry to the one-eyed witch statue that concealed the pathway to Honeydukes. It was the weekend already (James had finished all of his homework) and they were all planning to buy Remus some birthday presents. Peter came waddling down the hall moments later. He was positioned as look-out. He gave a thumbs up to James. His grin widened.

"Great!" he cried out. "Let's go."

They tread through the cave-like pathway, guided by the light emitting from the tip of James's wand. All of a sudden, from behind James, there was a noise that sounded like a dying animal.

"Quiet, you two!" James hissed towards the figures that turned out to be Remus and Sirius. Sirius was quivering while Remus just laughed.

"But Prongs, Remus was just attacking me… with his scarf!" Sirius cried out.

"Well, that's what you get for calling me a sissy," Remus shot back, still laughing. He smoothed out his scarf and put it back on so it hung loosely around his neck.

James shook his head and continued down the pathway, Peter and Harry walking closely behind. Remus strolled ahead to catch up with them. Sirius stood still.

"But I never called you a sissy!" Sirius yelled out after them.

"But you were thinking it," Remus said over his shoulder.

James, Harry, and Peter all burst out in mirth. Sirius huffed, but shrugged his shoulders and kept on walking.

Thirty minutes later, they were running through all the shops in the once quiet town.

"Ooo Moony! We know you want one of those!" Sirius cried out, pointing at a crystal ball through one of the windows.

Remus guffawed. "You're not serious, are you?"

"Er—yeah," Sirius said simply. "I'm Sirius," he said as if talking to a four year old. "You're Remus. That bloke's James. The little bugger in the back is Peter. The James-wanna-be is Harry…. You're really getting senile in your old age, mate."

"Okay," James said, clapping his gloved hands together, before Remus started to attack Sirius with his scarf again. "Now that we've done all this window shopping, Remus, go away."

"Oh that's real nice," Remus said sarcastically. "Throw out the birthday boy. I'm touched by your caring thoughts."

"We're going to buy you presents," James said exasperatedly. "Now go away!"

"Fine, fine…" Remus stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled off. "I'll be at the Three Broomsticks, that is, if you all really care about me…"

"Don't worry, we love you, Remy!" Sirius shouted to the retreating boy. Two elderly women who were walking past them gave Sirius an odd look before quickly hobbling away into the nearest store. Sirius, however, was oblivious. "Great. So what are we getting him?" he asked the others.

"Let's go in here first!" James said ecstatically.

"The _Quidditch _store?" Harry asked. "What would Moony want from there?"

"Er… I dunno," James said sheepishly. "But there's this really cool new uniform in there that I—"

"Oh, come on, we'll check out Dervish and Bangs, all right?" Sirius said impatiently, pulling a drooling James away from the Quidditch store.

"Fine," James said, but his pout was quite noticeable.

After forty minutes of shopping, they finally were sitting by the warm fire at the Three Broomsticks with Remus.

"Finally," Remus had said as they sat down. "You four seriously shop like girls."

The food had already been waiting for the four shoppers and had a special heating spell to keep the chips hot. They talked for an hour or so until Madam Rosmerta came up to them.

"Don't you boys need to be getting back to your school pretty soon?" she asked, still chewing gum.

Sirius grabbed Remus's wrist and looked at the watch. Before he could say anything, Remus spoke up wearily. "When are you going to get a watch, Padfoot?"

"When you give me one?" Sirius said hopefully.

"Forget it," Remus said at once, pulling his wrist out of his friend's grasp. "I love this watch. It's the only one I have."

"Remus!" Peter interrupted edgily. Everyone looked up. "What. Time. Is. It?"

"Oh, we should be going back soon," Remus said, still hugging his watch, his eyes flickering to Sirius. "It's already past dinner time there."

"And Remus the Prefect can't be caught doing something against the rules, now can he?" Sirius mocked.

They all stood up to get their coats.

"Shut it, or I'll give you detention," Remus muttered with irritation.

"But you can't give us detention," James said quickly. Everyone looked up. "I looked it up, just to make sure Evans—Lily couldn't place me in detention."

They all laughed and walked out the door.

"But she thinks you're good looking, James," Sirius mocked. "She wouldn't do that to you."

"Remus it right. Shut it."

Back in the common room, late that night (Sunday as it was), they were laughing about something (stupid) Peter had said when three other people joined them by the fireplace.

"We missed you boys at dinner," Hermione said as she sat down on the couch between Harry and Sirius. Remus got out of his chair for one of the girls, and to everyone else's surprise, so did James. Saumya Kim sat were Remus had previously been, while Lily warily sat down in James's.

"We were out," Sirius said casually. He watched Remus and James sit on the floor, leaning their backs against the chairs.

"Where?" Saumya asked.

All five boys looked at each other.

"At Hogsmeade," answered James nonchalantly.

"Hogsmeade?!" Lily cried out.

"Really?" Saumya asked excitedly. "How on earth did you get there?"

"But you all could've gotten in serious trouble!" said Lily.

"That's our secret," James answered Saumya. "And you forget who you're talking to, Lily. We're the Marauders. We get away with everything."

"Take our lovely Color-Mood spell for example," Sirius said. "We never got caught for that little prank."

"Yes, I'm so glad that stupid spell ended after the second day," Lily said, flopping back into her seat.

"What, hated turning pink every time you talked to James?" Saumya teased.

James turned his head like a whip to stare at Lily. Lily, on the other hand shot her roommate a glare before she hid her face in her hands.

"And see how she doesn't deny it," Sirius pointed out. Saumya and Hermione giggled. The other boys, minus James laughed. James, though, continued to stare, his eyes growing even wider. "Blimey, how I love this school."

"So Remus," Lily said abruptly, not daring to look James in the eye. "What are you doing for your birthday?"

"Nothing, really," he said quietly. "I just don't like big birthdays."

"A Marauder, not liking a day where they get free presents?" Saumya asked. "Is it possible?"

Everyone laughed. "You'd think not, eh?" Sirius said, casting Saumya a wink.

They spent most of their conversation teasing James and Lily, but somehow they got off topic and started to talk about floor rugs. Hermione, who had been thinking deeply most of the time (no surprise there), suddenly looked around the common room to find it completely empty. She looked at her watch to find it one in the morning. "Er, guys?" she said in a quiet voice (Sirius looked at her while everyone else ignored her). "Shouldn't we—"

Suddenly, the portrait swung open with a loud band, and in walked a seventh year boy, looking quite livid. On his robes, beneath his Gryffindor badge, was a crest with the letters HB on it: Head Boy. Henrick Larsson, a tall black boy, had raven black hair swinging in his face as he looked, outraged, at the eight sixth year students.

"What do you think you're all doing?!" he yelled. "Get to bed. Now!"

"Calm down, Henkie, we were just getting ready to leave," James said calmly as all the others jumped out of the seats at the shout.

"Don't call me Henkie!" he yelled.

"Good night," the three girls said hurriedly and scuttled out of the room.

As the four Marauders and Harry left the room, they could here the Head Boy muttering: "First that stupid Snape prowling around at night, now those stupid sixth years… this job is never easy."

"Jeez, I'd hate to be Head Boy," James said as they walked into their dormitory, with a set of stairs between themselves and Henrick Larsson.

Harry laughed silently to himself. It would be less than a year until James would be getting his Hogwarts letter, his Head Boy badge tucked neatly inside his usual envelope.

"Just think, Moony," Sirius said as he took off his shirt and hopped into bed. "This'll be your last night as a sixteen-year-old. Tomorrow, you will be of age…. Scary thought, huh?"

"Do you know what's even scarier?" Remus asked. Sirius shook his head. "You turning seventeen."

Sirius gave a pout. "That's not funny."

James, Harry, and Peter laughed fully. "Ah, but it _is_ funny because it _is_ true!"

Sirius huffed. "Fine, think what you like, but I'm going to bed."

"Good night, everyone," Peter yawned.

* * *

It was Monday night, Remus's birthday, and Sirius was retelling a Marauder birthday story with great enthusiasm; he almost had tears in his eyes.

"And remember—remember when McGonagall told James off for using a spell that extinguished every single candle in all of Hogwarts two years ago? And then—and then he said, he said, 'But Professor, it's my birthday. All Muggles blow out the candles on _their _birthdays!'"

"Sirius, did you really need to share that with everyone?" James groaned.

All sixth year Gryffindors were piled into the boys' dormitory (which had an enlarging spell on it, just incase it got too crowded in there). It had been decorated with Muggle streamers and balloons. There was some food laid out on the beds; some of it was a present from Remus's parents, some was from the kitchens.

Dana and Freya were huddled over by the licorice wands, giggling away at Sirius's story while Lily was leaning on a bed post, not looking as amused. Peter was giggling shrilly, glancing every now and then at James, to see if he found it funny. Remus was, at the time, looking at the little pile of presents he had from his friends. He decided to leave the Marauder's presents for when everyone was gone, just incase it had to do with some… secrets of himself. He reached for Lily's present.

"Hey, Lily?" he called out over Peter's laughter. Lily looked up. "Is it all right if I open your present first?"

"Of course it is," Lily answered, leaving her post and walking over.

He opened up the plain paper wrapping the present. "Wow, a bag." Remus held out a nice brown, leather messenger bag one would assume to use for school supplies and books.

"And what's really nice about it is," Lily started, "is that it adds however many pockets the owner wants at the time. Also, it had a feather-light weight charm on it, so your books won't be that heavy."

Remus looked admirably at the bag; his old one (the same one he had back in his first year) was breaking at the seams and wearing out. "Thanks, Lily. It's just what I needed."

"Oh, sorry, Remus," Freya called out. "We didn't know we were supposed to bring a present." Dana nodded in agreement.

Sirius, Peter, and James looked at each other, their eyes darkened.

"Do you know what I heard, Padfoot?" James said abruptly, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"No, what, Prongs?" Sirius answered, having a vague idea of what James was doing.

"I heard that the Hufflepuff sixth years were playing Spin the Bottle in the old history class," James said nonchalantly, examining his fingernails.

"Oh, you're right," Sirius said. "They said it was that Kyle McFly bloke who was hosting it." It was a miracle that Sirius had a straight face on while he spoke.

Dana and Freya both instantly sat up. "Really?" Dana squealed.

"Remus, happy birthday," Freya said, strolling over to the door. "But we forgot to do our history homework. Er—bye!" And the two giggling girls left the room.

"Should we even bother to tell them that they haven't taken history class for a year now?" Remus drawled.

"I think not," James said darkly.

"They wouldn't have enjoyed the party anyways," Sirius said impassively.

"And what makes you think we will?" Lily asked.

James raised his eyebrows. "Do I really need to answer that?"

"Actually, I'd rather you not."

"So what's next?" Harry asked.

"Well, we could finish opening the other presents," Hermione suggested.

"All right, but the Marauders have a special tradition to go through when opening each other's presents, so I'm afraid the rest of you will just have to hear about it," James said.

Hermione, as it turned out, gave Remus… a book. But it was a book about Ancient Runes and hieroglyphics. He excitedly flipped through it, saying that he couldn't wait to read it. Harry had gotten him a whole box of Chocolate Frogs. Sirius was convinced that he saw a tear form in Remus's eyes.

"What now?" Peter asked a while later. "We've opened up all the presents… that we can. Told all the stories we can," he added, looking at Sirius.

"How 'bout we take a leaf out of the Hufflepuffs' book," Sirius said slowly, "and play Spin the Bottle." He looked around at everyone anxiously. "What about you, Hermione? Care to play? Feel lucky?" he said in a deep voice.

"You _do _know," James said to Sirius, "that the Hufflepuffs aren't _really_ playing that, don't you?"

Sirius, however, chose to ignore his friend and stare at Hermione intently.

"Are you suggesting something, Mr. Black?" Hermione asked, a grin creeping onto her face against her mind's orders.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Sirius answered smoothly. "Depends on how the suggested acts." Sirius cast Hermione a flirtatious wink.

"I _always_ wanted to know how well a Marauder kisses," Hermione said to herself thoughtfully. Sirius's jaw dropped in surprise. He had certainly not been expecting her to say anything like that.

Remus had had enough of their stupid flirting. He searched around his head for an excuse. "Er—I'm going to get some more—er, sweets from my bag." And he turned and left the room in a flash.

James glared heavily at Sirius, whose figure seemed to wilt with sadness. He avoided looking anyone in the eye. James stood up and went to chase after Remus, but someone grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

"I'll talk to him," Hermione said. James was about to disagree when Hermione kept on talking. "It'll be fine. I _want_ to talk to him." James, seeing that he would not win this argument (and Hermione's duel against Remus from Defense class still fresh in mind), he stepped aside and let Hermione walk out.

Remus looked around the empty common room but didn't really see anything. His mind was reeling. What had happened back there? Sure, Sirius had flirted with Hermione. At his, Remus's, own birthday party, true, which was not the best place, but then again, it _was_ Sirius. But Hermione hadn't swatted him down. She kept that ridiculous flirting going. _Erg—that girl has toyed with our emotions for too long…_ Remus thought angrily. _It's about time we found out if she really likes us or not…_

His thoughts were interrupted by light footsteps coming from the stair case. Remus whipped around from his spot in the middle of the common room floor to find Hermione walking towards him. He stiffened.

"Let's go back upstairs, Remus," she said, her words dripping with sweetness and kindness.

Remus looked straight into her eyes. "Wouldn't you rather be with Sirius… alone?" he asked.

"No, of course not," Hermione answered. "Why would I?"

"Because you were practically begging him to snog you upstairs!" Remus said, sounding extremely touchy. He kept on staring deeply into her eyes, searching for something.

"Oh, but Remus, I was only being sarcastic," Hermione said quickly. "It's funny, I never used to be sarcastic, but this year, with you and the rest of the Marauders, I've actually started to—"

But Remus had tuned her out. He had kept looking at her eyes and noted on how she talked and blushed. _I say now is a good time to find out if she really likes me or not_, Remus thought. Without hesitation, he held two fingers up to Hermione's mouth. He leaned in and gave Hermione a short but sweet kiss on the lips. Remus took a step back to see how she would react.

Remus had expected Hermione to shout at him. He expected her to argue and scold Remus, saying that she didn't like him like that, or that she didn't want to be with him like that. At the least, he expected her to glare at him, or turn and leave abruptly. What he had not expected her to do was giggle, which she did.

Hermione had first been astounded that Remus would actually kiss her, but once she thought about for a second, it was actually quite funny. Remus John Lupin, her old professor, had just given her a sweet little kiss. And he even looked nervous, waiting for her reaction. She couldn't hold it in. She burst into a fit of giggles.

"Er—Hermione?" Remus said, definitely scared. "Are you… are you okay?"

Instead of calming down, Hermione giggled even more furiously. She shook her head, covering her mouth to deafen her cackle.

"What's the matter?" he asked cautiously.

"You just—you just kissed me!" Hermione managed to say.

Remus had never seen her face so pink from a mix of embarrassment and mirth. "Yes, yes I did," he said. "I don't see what's so funny."

"You, Remus John Lupin, just kissed me!" Hermione was hysterical now.

"Ye—wait, how did you know my middle name?" Remus asked distractedly.

Hermione's laughter faltered. "Huh?"

"How did you know my middle name?" Remus repeated. He paused, looking as if he was trying to recall old memories. "You know… now that I think about it… you've said and done a lot of things that a person, new to this school, let alone country, wouldn't know or do…"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked sharply, all trace of the giggles gone.

"You… you and Harry," Remus said slowly. "Both of you act... as if—"

But what Harry and Hermione act as if, Hermione never knew. She had jumped forward, acting on her emotions rather than her mind. Her slender hands wrapped loosely around Remus's neck as she stood on tiptoe to give him a long but innocent kiss. It took a few moments for Remus to register what was happening. His reflexes kicked in and he laid his hands on Hermione's hip and kissed back, putting all his emotion, how much he really felt for her, into the kiss.

Hermione pulled back slowly sooner than Remus would've liked. She smiled at him. She leaned back in and whispered in his ear, "Happy Birthday, Remus." She leisurely started to walk away, giving a radiant smile.

"Thanks," Remus said automatically, still dazed by the kiss.

Hermione gave a soft chortle as she kept on walking backwards. "You're welcome…. Good night."

"Good night, Hermione," sighed Remus. He watched longingly as she retreated up the stairs quickly. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, but suddenly felt relaxed. He had done it. He had kissed a girl, a girl that not only he liked, but Sirius liked too. Actually, to state it correctly, he gave her a peck, and then she kissed him. Remus, feeling that his first day as a seventeen-year-old had been quite fun and rather full, started to make his way out of the common room and up the stairs, taking his time. He stepped through the door to his dormitory to find that it was only his four other roommates.

"Where'd Lily go?" he asked.

"She left a few minutes after you left, mate," James said from his bed.

"Yeah, after James re-suggested Spin the Bottle," Sirius said. He looked hard at Remus. "What happened? Did Hermione ever talk to you?"

Remus was glad his friends weren't mind-readers, because he wanted to keep his secret… secret. "Yeah, we talked a little. I offered her some candy, but it turns out it was stolen from my bag… so she went to bed and now I'm here."

Sirius and Peter seemed convinced, but James and Harry seemed skeptical. They didn't question him though; James just threw a Chocolate Frog at Remus. "Eat it. I want the card."

Remus smiled. "Oh James, you know me too well." He tore open the Chocolate Frog, tossed the card to James (who excitedly read the back), and bit off the head of the frog. Maybe it was the chocolate, but he felt brighter than he had been in weeks. _Being seventeen sure is different,_ he thought as popped the rest of the Chocolate Frog into his mouth.

A/N: Top of the morning! Sorry I took so long to update. One, I got a new laptop (very different than my old one). And two, I've been having football (soccer, for you Americans) practice twice a day since Monday, so I am one sore and tired writer. So I apologize again for the wait. I hope this one satisfied you all!

About this chapter. I'm going to be teasing all your readers with the whole Remus-Hermione-Sirius thing. I am not going to give anything away until that moment, which you will be able to tell who she ends up with. And I'm making that Hermione's hormones are finally going to kick in, at age sixteen… Seriously, can't she ever act like a girl?

To my BRILLIANT reviewers:

Thanks to **Flaignhan** (Pyro much? Lol…), **dawn1, eman, Niphredel Black, Mangoes2oo5, Shelby H **(scroll down), **Dancerchaick314, WinterTwilight, Sissiro, khuu-khuu, keagen **(you rock!)**, Nuova, stargazer starluver**(thanks!)**, Tweedles, Secretly Smiling, the girl at the rockshow** (interesting idea…)**, Romm, jessa1234, bobby, The Lady Elizibeth, Roxxie-Hart.**

**Doodler Girl: **Not a REAL telepath, eh? This chapter's main thing was mentioned at the end of the last chapter! Tsk tsk, you're slipping! Thanks.

**MasteroftheFlame: **BORING CHAPTER? Jeez, I'm not J. K. Rowling, you know… Sorry , the Quidditch commentator won't be making a big appearance for some time, if at all…

**StrawberriSpoons:** Wow! You read my story in one go? Blimey… Wicked! Thanks a lot. You don't know how much I love it when people say that kind of things. So, er… -scratches head- what's your IM? It's kinda not in your profile. Thanks!

**Hermione781:** Do you know what's funny? I actually don't believe in Sirius/Hermione stories. I know that it's really Ron and Hermione who like each other. But I just love the Marauders, so I wanted to write this. Thanks!

**A note to all readers! **The Marauders will find out about Harry and Hermione's secret (the whole time-traveling thing) either in two or three chapters. It's going to be good! (I don't have it written, just an idea in my head).

I just want a poll from all you reviewers. Who do you want Hermione to end up with: Sirius or Remus? I have an idea for either of those two, so I just want to see what all of you are hoping for. Thanks!


	19. Chapter 19: Hermione’s Troubles

**Chapter 19: Hermione's Troubles**

"Hermione, are you all right?" Lily asked kindly as they sat in the very far corner of the common room the next night.

"Of course," Hermione said without looking up from her book in front of her. She groped blindly around the table in front of them for a quill. "What makes you ask such a thing?" She scribbled something down on a scrap of paper tucked in the old pages of her Ancient Runes book.

Lily studied her friend for a moment. "For one, you have been rather quiet since you came back from Remus's birthday party." She paused, waiting for Hermione to say something but was disappointed when Hermione didn't even look up from her book. "And for another, you have completely been avoiding all of the Marauders."

"But you do too," Hermione pointed out, still not looking up. "You avoid them."

"That's because I don't like them," Lily said exasperatedly. "But you, you're friends with them…. Did something happen?" she asked softly.

Hermione thought about telling Lily what had happened in the common room the night before. _Oh yes, and you can also tell her why it was so wrong to kiss Remus… _Hermione thought. _Just tell Lily Evans that I'm from the future and Remus actually ends up teaching me as a respected professor. _Hermione shook her head. "Nah… I just really want to focus on schoolwork for the time being."

"So you're not avoiding the Marauders?" Lily asked. Her eyes flashed over Hermione's shoulder.

"No," Hermione said slowly.

"Good," Lily said, watching something behind Hermione, "because they're coming over here right now."

Hermione turned around to find Harry and James leading the other three Marauders over to Hermione and Lily's table. Harry plopped down in the seat next to Hermione while James sat brightly amidst both girls.

"Hello, ladies," James said suavely. Hermione's features lightened while Lily just scowled, darting her eyes back to her homework.

"How can you two work on homework right now?" Sirius asked incredulously as he sat down across from James.

"It's Tuesday, Padfoot," Remus said warily, sitting between Sirius and Lily. "We usually get homework during the week."

"Or have you not been paying attention in class again?" quipped Peter. He sat next to Harry and Sirius.

"Since when do I pay attention in class?" Sirius asked, running a hand through his hair.

"What happens if one of the teachers mentions something important during class and you're daydreaming at the time?" Remus asked.

"I've got a system," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair. "I ask myself, 'Why bother paying attention when other people' AKA you people, my friends, 'can tell me about it later?'"

"Ah, so get the other people to do the work for you?" James asked, smiling.

"That's the idea," Sirius answered brightly.

"Is there a reason why you five are here?" Lily asked wearily.

"Er—we go to school here too, Evans," Sirius laughed.

"You know what I mean," Lily said, near growling.

"You don't enjoy our presence?" James asked, feigning a hurt look.

"No, not really," Lily said, reading her book again. "You're just distracting us from studying."

"Oh, but we'll be quiet, Lily!" James said. "Won't we, mates?" he asked, turning to his friends.

Before any of them could answer, Lily spoke up. "And what's with calling me by my first name now, Potter?" she asked, more curious than fierce.

"Are you saying you want me to call you by your surname? 'Cause I could go back to calling you Evans, if you want," he said offhandedly.

"I really couldn't care less of what you call me, Potter," Lily sighed.

James stole a glance at Harry, who was giving an egging look. James turned back to Lily. "But—could it—could it hurt… to call me… James?" he asked in a soft, mouse-like voice that did not suit him well.

Lily was taken aback at the question. But what threw her off was the tone of voice he had used. Usually he talked to her in a fake deep, mature voice. But this voice seemed natural, almost meek and humane. "James, eh?" Lily said. James nodded once very slightly. "I guess it couldn't hurt too much…"

James beamed, as did Harry (Peter, too, of course). Sirius and Remus looked blasé at James and Lily. They focused on the girl who they were both interested in.

"What's up, Hermione?" Sirius asked. "You seem quiet."

Hermione, from the moment Lily had said that the Marauders were coming their way, had been "focusing" on her Ancient Runes book. But by focusing, she was just staring at one point in the book, her eyes never moving. She didn't even look up when Sirius said her name, and she didn't dare look at Remus.

"I'm just tired," Hermione said, finally moving her eyes across the page of her book to seem as if she was reading. "I didn't get too much sleep last night."

"Well maybe if you stopped reading and took a break—" Remus started, staring intensely at Hermione, who didn't return the look.

Hermione shut her book with a snap. "Actually, I think I'm going to go to bed now. Good night everyone." She left without another word, never looking at Sirius or Remus.

Remus wilted with disappointment as he flopped back in the chair. Sirius's shoulder just sagged a little. Harry, however, looked at Lily.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked her.

"That's what I was trying to figure out before you all came here," Lily answered. "But she won't tell me anything."

It then became a bit clearer to Harry. It probably had to do with the future or something along those lines. Maybe he could talk to her tomorrow and find out what was troubling her.

"She will in time," Harry said comfortingly to Lily. "She's not one to keep secrets for too long, don't worry."

"All right, if you say so," sighed Lily.

But Harry never really got a chance to talk to Hermione the next day. Or the day after that. Hermione seemed to be avoiding every sixth year Gryffindor boy during the entire week. During classes, if the students needed to pair up, Hermione would be with Lily or Saumya at a table farther away from the Marauders than usual. And over the weekend, James went frantic when he heard that the Hufflepuffs got a new Keeper, so he had everyone, especially the Chasers, outside most of the day practicing. It was Wednesday of the next week when Harry finally got to talk to Hermione.

Hermione entered the Potion's dungeon to find she was the first student there. She sighed and sat down in her usual seat, sitting towards the back. She started to pull out the ingredients needed for that day's potion when she felt someone sit down beside her. She turned, expecting Lily's smiling face, to see Harry looking strangely at her.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Harry said concernedly. He glanced over his shoulder, spotting his tactless friends at once. He shooed them away with a glaring eye. The four Marauders finally understood the hint and sat at the opposite side of the room, yet still far enough from the teacher.

"I don't see anything wrong," Hermione answered stiffly. She turned her gaze to her book, which lay upside down on the table.

"Oh, that's good. 'Cause I thought you had been avoiding me and the Marauders for the past week. But since you're not, I feel much better."

Hermione looked at Harry.

"In case you didn't notice," Harry started with an air of annoyance, "that was sarcasm."

"I got that much," Hermione muttered. "Well, what do you want me to say?"

"How about the real truth of why you haven't talked to us for the past week?" Harry asked softly as some Ravenclaws walked past them.

Hermione gave him a skeptical, thoughtful look.

"Is it about the future?" Harry whispered, leaning in so Keegan and Lily wouldn't hear.

Hermione, never able to keep a secret in for too long, couldn't hold what had happened between her and Remus a week before. "I kissed Remus!" she whispered in a shocked voice, as if she had just realized what she had done.

"LUPIN?!" Harry shouted, utterly bewildered. He had not been expecting that as her answer.

"Do we know any other Remus?" Hermione asked hotly.

Harry just opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, looking oddly like a fish. It took him a few moments for his brain to register the information. This gave Hermione some time to fight her blush down.

"Why did you kiss him?" Harry finally asked.

Hermione had been ready for this one. "Well, it was his birthday… and he started to talk about how you and I know a lot of things that normal people don't… and he kept on jumping from conclusion to conclusion… and so to make him forget for the time being… I…"

"What happened to the reasonable, thoughtful girl I was friends with?" Harry moaned. "You know, the one that wouldn't kiss guys to shut them up?"

"It was just a spur of the moment type thing," Hermione said defensively.

"And what is Lupin going to think of you twenty years from now?!" Harry hissed.

Hermione's face stiffened. She hadn't even thought about that.

"Hermione… what has gotten into you lately?" sighed Harry.

"I—I honestly don't know," Hermione said, sounding completely defeated. "But Harry—it gets worse…. Sirius—he kissed me before, but I tried to forget about it…"

"Like a peck or—" he trailed off. Hermione avoided his eye contact, which could only mean one thing. "Eeeeew! You mean Lupin _and_ Black?" he whispered. Professor Smirch sauntered into the classroom. "We are definitely going to talk tonight." It wasn't an invite.

Hermione nodded her head weakly, already dreading the conversation. What _had_ she been thinking?

* * *

Hermione was standing by the window of a classroom that looked out onto the lake in front of the forest. She turned around quickly as a door creaked open behind her. It was Harry. Hermione opened her mouth to welcome him, but he cut her off short.

"Forget the greetings, Hermione," Harry said coolly. "Let's just get to why you kissed two _Marauders_."

Hermione looked down at the floor, then out to the window. She didn't speak awhile, for she had nothing to say.

"Why, Hermione?" Harry asked again, his voice more pleading and less cold. "Why did you do it?"

"Who, Sirius or Remus?" she asked quietly, still staring out through the window.

Harry cringed, but managed to keep his cool. "Sirius."

"Well, he sort of kissed me… and I couldn't pull away…"

"So you decided to kiss him back?!"

"No! …Yes… I don't know!" Hermione sighed. "But I did give S—Sirius a little kiss after he sang that song at Halloween…" she said. Harry could see the tops of her ears shine a bright pink.

"Is that it?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"And what about Remus?"

Hermione paused, thinking. "Well, back during the first week here, while at Hogsmeade, I pecked his cheek, but I didn't mean for it to be anything."

"And see how well that worked," Harry mumbled moodily.

"But I think his birthday was the only time I actually kissed someone," Hermione answered, ignoring Harry's comment. She still was focusing on the forest outside. An owl was flying to the Owlery.

"And what was that about?" asked Harry, more curious than angered.

"Well, when we were in the common room, he sort of rushed at me and kissed me—on the cheek," Hermione added hastily at the sight of Harry's appalled face. He calmed down a little. "But the next thing I knew, he was talking about you and I, about how we know some things that normal, 'first years' students wouldn't know. And before I could stop myself and think logically—I kissed him." She turned around and faced Harry for the fist time. She didn't look too embarrassed or angry with herself. Her face was passive.

"But why?" Harry asked exasperatedly. "Out of all things you could have done, why that?"

"What else would have cleared his mind from the conversation completely?" Hermione asked, still calm. "What else would make him forget what we had been talking about for a while?"

"But there was no other reason?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Meaning?" Hermione asked, dreading her answer.

"You don't, er… have feelings for either of them?" he asked.

That was it. That was the one question that popped up into Hermione's mind all the time. Did she actually like Remus Lupin or Sirius Black? They were twice her age in her real time. But in this time… "I don't know," she whispered. "I don't know if I do or don't," she said, her voice a little louder.

Harry stared wide-eyed at Hermione, who had just collapsed into a chair in front of her. "But Hermione, they're twenty years older than us!" Harry yelled, astounded at Hermione's answer.

"I know, but in this time… they just seem different," Hermione said.

"Of course they are. They haven't gone through twelve years of Azkaban or twelve years as a lonely werewolf," Harry said edgily.

"But that's the thing," Hermione interrupted. "They're different people when they were younger. And I'm not even sure I like them, Harry!"

"Good, because we can't," Harry said flatly, his tone a bit steely. "It's like when I was asked to be a Marauder. We can't become too close to anyone here. And you dating that McFly boy was too close to the line." Hermione glared at him. She did not want to bring Kyle up. "So all we've have is each other."

Hermione nodded. Harry was right. She would just have to push thoughts of Sirius and Remus out of her mind, or at least to the back of her head.

Harry suddenly started to laugh.

"What?" Hermione asked, sounding hurt that Harry would choose a time like this to laugh.

Harry shook his head. "I just imagined what this conversation would have been like if Ron was here." He laughed some more.

Hermione paused, but then chuckled. "That would have been… interesting."

"Meaning that he would have been freaking out," Harry laughed. He got out of his chair and made his way towards the door, Hermione right behind him. "Especially after seeing him when he found out about Krum."

"This conversation would have lasted a lot longer if he was here," Hermione said. They both walked out of the classroom. Both started to walk down the hall that would lead them back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Yeah, he'd still be yelling right about now," Harry said. The twosome gave a little chuckle.

Silence followed them.

"I really miss him," Hermione said sadly.

"Me, too. I miss everyone," added Harry mournfully. "As much fun as I'm having here, I'm afraid that somehow, we'll mess something up back home."

"I know exactly how you feel, Harry."

"I wonder when we'll be heading home," Harry said lightly.

"Not for a while," Hermione said darkly. "But it seems like we've been here for quite some time, doesn't it?"

Harry nodded. "I wonder how everyone is doing back home without us."

"Yes, I'm sure everyone is panicked. Voldemort's back and Harry Potter is missing. Not two good things."

"I was thinking about our friends, but I guess the entire wizarding world is troubled, too, with our absences."

"I hope everyone's doing all right," Hermione said a bit fearfully.

"With Dumbledore there, nothing too bad can happen," Harry said confidently.

"I just hope no one gets hurt."

Harry put a comforting arm around Hermione's shoulder, but he couldn't promise anything, so he kept quite.

As they walked into their common room minutes later, Harry spotted Lily and gave her a reassuring wink. Hermione, her head a lot clearer than before, was smiling. Instead of avoiding Remus's and Sirius's gaze, she looked straight into their eyes and gave them a cheery smile. Harry was right. Everything was going to end up all right.

* * *

A/N: Wow, this is a short chapter, isn't it? Sorry, I just wanted to split up these next two chapters. Each has a similar theme, but at the same time, they don't belong together. So I'm pretty sure that the next chapter will be on the shorter side, too.

I am sorry to say that I won't be updating as often for a while. But there won't be a month in between chapters, I can promise you that! I just hope you have the patience to bear with me. Homework and football practice are making my nights just a titch too hectic.

Oh yes, about that poll I had at the end of the last chapter. I appreciate all of your answers. Sirius got the most (by three votes), but that doesn't mean I promise Sirius will win Hermione's heart! And for those who said that the story is called "Saving Siri" and therefore it's about Sirius… good job at catching that! But I'm afraid that doesn't give it away. It's called Saving Siri because the whole reason Harry and Hermione are back there was they were originally trying to save Sirius. But whoever doesn't end up with Hermione, I can assure you that they'll all still be friends in the end. No one hates each other!

Just so you know, Sirius will live at the end. I could not keep him dead (he shouldn't be in the first place!), so no worries there.

The next chapter will have the Marauders having a serious discussion, just like Harry and Hermione had. They become suspicious of the two new sixth years. What will happen? …

Thank you all you great reviewers! I would individually thank you (you deserve it for reviewing) but I'm running out of time on my computer. THANKS!


	20. Chapter 20: Leaked Secrets

**

* * *

Chapter 20: Leaked Secrets **

"Do you know why I love chocolate?" Remus asked his four other friends. He waved a chunk of what used to be a whole Chocolate Frog in their faces. Leaning back against the post of his bed, he bit off the middle of the frog so all that was left was its head. Remus closed his eyes and gave a heavy, content sigh, showing that the chocolate had hit the spot.

"Because you really are one of the girls?" Sirius ventured, sucking on the end of a sugar quill. He, James, Harry, and Peter laughed.

"Heh, that look on you, Padfoot, looks really odd, I've never seen it before," Remus said. No one caught on. "You sucking on the tip of your quill… Makes you look smart."

James howled with laughter at Sirius's dumbstruck face while Peter joined in shrilly. Harry decided not to completely take sides, but chuckled noticeably. Remus just smirked smugly as he chewed his chocolate.

"Okay, Moony, we get it. You're wittier when you're seventeen," Sirius said edgily. "But it's been two and a half weeks since your birthday… so shut it already!"

"Seemed to have hit a sore spot, Moony," James said, still grinning. "Might want to be careful around that one."

"Aw, does ickle Siri need to have a wittle nap since he's so cwanky?" Remus teased in a baby voice. Sirius just glared and growled.

"Weren't you saying something about chocolate earlier?" he asked moodily.

"Ah yes," Remus smiled. "So… does anyone know why I love chocolate so much?" he asked again. He grabbed another piece and started to unwrap it, tossing the card to James, who didn't even look up from his Pepper Imp but just stuck out his hand to catch it. Remus looked expectantly at them all.

"No, Moony. Why?" Harry said at last. "Why do you love chocolate?"

"I don't know. I was hoping one of you would know," Remus said simply. They all cracked up. Their laughter died down as they continued to munch on their sweets. Once through with yet another Chocolate Frog, Remus groaned.

"What?" Peter asked, his teeth chattering loudly from an Ice Mice.

"I ate the last Chocolate Frog," he whined.

"Why don't you go to the kitchens and get some more?" Sirius asked, sucking on another quill.

"I don't want to get caught," Remus said. "I know that Professor Smirch has been wandering the halls for the past few weeks. I don't want to risk it."

"Why not use the Invisibility Cloak?" Harry asked simply, popping a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean in his mouth.

At first, everyone looked as if it was a good idea, until they actually thought about it. Only Peter didn't seem to realize something was wrong.

The Invisibility Cloak… The Marauders had never told Harry about the Invisibility Cloak. They had never shown it to him, never discussed it around him, and certainly not used it around him. It was one of the many Marauder's Secrets. Even though Harry had been asked to join them, they still hadn't told him everything. No, the Marauder's wouldn't have slipped like that. So how did Harry know?

"Naw, " Remus said quickly, trying to avoid a scene. "I'll just go another time." He looked directly at James and Sirius, and shook his head only the slightest bit. Harry didn't notice, since he was fishing around in the Every Flavor Bean box, steering clear of ear wax ones.

James yawned. "All that Quidditch and homework—"

"What homework?" Remus interrupted. "The only homework you did tonight was the five sentence homework Alyward gave us."

"—tired me out," James finished, ignoring Remus. "I'm going to be, mates. Good night!"

"'Night," they echoed. They all stuffed the extra candy into boxes underneath their bed. The swish of five curtains closing sounded through their room and then silence took over as night and sleepiness crept into the room.

Before everyone was deeply in dreamland, James said, "My Watermelon, Patrick, Plays Music Every Evening, Too, In Great Niles."

And all were asleep.

* * *

"_My Watermelon, Patrick, Plays Music Every Evening, Too, In Great Niles?!_ What kind of code is that?!" Sirius yelled, outraged, the next night.

"Oh! I know this one!" Peter shouted, sounding quite proud of himself. "It's when you put the beginning letters of each word together to make a code or sentence. He folded his arms across his chest and beamed pompously.

All four Marauders had gathered in a roomy secret passageway on the fourth floor behind a large mirror. A few years ago, when they first found it, they had drawn up a few soft, comfy chairs and every time they used it, Remus would set up a portable fireplace.

"Yes, I know that, Wormtail," Sirius groaned, "hence why I'm here. I'm saying that James recited such a ridiculous code-sentence."

"But you understood it, didn't you?" James countered.

"Yes," said Sirius slowly, almost defensively.

"Then I don't see the problem here, Padfoot," James said smugly.

"Can we get back to our original discussion here, please?" Remus said, massaging his temples. "Some of have homework due tomorrow that they'd like to finish _before_ midnight."

"But this is important, Moony!" James said, shocked.

"And what exactly are we here for?" Peter asked. He sat up a little in his plushy red chair to lean in.

"Harry," James said darkly.

Silence. Then—

"What about Harry?" Peter asked again.

"You haven't noticed anything strange or different about Harry?" James asked patiently.

Peter sat back in his chair and entered pondering mode. Sirius tapped his foot impatiently.

"You don't think he doesn't act like he's really new here at all?" Sirius asked after a few seconds of waiting.

"Well, sometimes I get the idea that he's not like other boys…" Peter trailed off.

Sirius and James snorted. Peter had missed his innuendo.

"But it's Hermione, too," interjected Remus, bringing his friends back down to Earth. "She's also different." He paused. "But I'm not sure if different is the right word here… Something is set out of place with Harry and Hermione."

"I know what you mean," James said at once. Remus didn't need to go into a rant, searching for the right words. Last time he did, they had wasted thirty minutes trying to help him search for the "right word".

"So when did this all start?" Peter asked quietly. He looked nervously around at his friends. "When did things start to get suspicious?"

Everyone paused in silence, thinking deeply of the two new Gryffindor students. It was James who spoke up first.

"From the moment they arrived, really…. They fell from midair, and then went straight to Dumbledore's office."

"Yeah, they were pretty suspicious from the beginning," Sirius added. "They were in Hogwarts uniform, but we hadn't seen them all week. They had stayed over the summer for a tour, but they missed their first week of school? That doesn't make sense."

Remus nodded. "What else?"

"What about when Hermione first saw me, she cried out my name and hugged me?" Sirius said, staring at the ground hard. He looked up to Remus. "I'd never seen her before, but she acted as if she knew me well."

"Hermione also acted oddly around Lily when she first saw her," James said.

"They said they went to Durmstrang before this, didn't they?" Remus asked. James nodded. "As I remember reading about the famous schools of Europe, Durmstrang is a very Dark school…. They probably wouldn't allow Muggle-Borns into such a school. And Hermione is a Muggle-Born, isn't she?"

James nodded. "Hey, you're right. I never thought of that."

"What else?" Sirius asked.

"Well, don't they know the grounds almost as well as we do?" Peter spoke up from his corner chair. Everyone looked at him. "I mean, they walk through the halls without ever thinking where everything is. That's something, isn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right," Remus said after pausing for a moment to think.

"And knew about people here in their first week that normally they wouldn't know."

"What do you mean, Sirius?" Remus asked.

"They knew about Snivellus and Filch and Pomfrey and Moaning Myrtle in the first day or two," Sirius answered.

Everyone was silent.

"Did anyone notice that they never talk about their past friends and family?" Peter asked softly. All four boys tried to think of a time when they had specifically said anything about their past. Nothing.

Sirius suddenly smacked his forehead. "I completely forgot about what happened at the end of September. I was going to tell you… but I forgot."

"What? What happened?" James asked, sounding anxious.

"It was one their way to go see Dumbledore the second time, right? And they ran into my dear brother and his girlfriend." Sirius sighed, running a hand through his hair, trying hard to remember what happened. "Harry wasn't polite to Regulus at all. Once my brother and his girl left, Hermione had asked why he was so cruel… And Harry gave an answer that made no sense. He called Reg a future Death Eater… and something about cleaning out headquarters with me. Harry also said something else to Hermione… But I can't remember!" Sirius growled frustratingly.

"It's all right, Padfoot," James said soothingly. "You said Harry told Hermione that he was a future Death Eater?" Sirius nodded. "What do you think?" James turned, asking Remus.

Remus didn't speak right away. He shifted in his seat. "It _is_ puzzling. But there's something that I should've told you…" He cleared his throat. "Back on my birthday, Hermione didn't go back to her dormitory right away. I wanted to see—to see if she actually liked me," he avoided Sirius's gaze, "so I kissed her." No one made a sound. "And she started to—_giggle_." Sirius snorted. "And then she said my name, my full name. The only people who know my full name are you guys and my family. And that's when I noticed how she knew things others didn't."

"Why didn't you ask her about it?" Sirius asked impatiently. "Why didn't you question her?"

Remus adverted his eyes to the ground. "Because she kissed me. I just—forgot—about what we were talking about after we kissed."

"But why did she kiss you?" James asked.

Remus opened his mouth, but could not think of an answer.

"Ah…" James said knowingly.

"You think she kissed me to shut me up and make me forget?" groaned Remus.

Sirius answered first. "Partially." Remus whipped his head around to look at Sirius, who had an odd glint in his grey eyes. "She also kissed you because she likes you." His voice was certainly not warm and fuzzy.

"Oh, don't start this up again," James whimpered.

"Back to the original topic," interjected Peter quickly, glancing nervously between Remus and Sirius. "So what does all this lead up to? What are we suggesting?"

The only sound was the crackling of the fire.

"Wait!" Remus said suddenly. Every looked up from the ground. "She—Hermione—said she had read _Hogwarts, A History_."

"So?" Peter asked.

"She also said that she always had to correct her friends when dealing with the information inside that book," Remus continued excitedly.

James finally caught on. "And if her friends consisted of Lily, who is incredibly smart and has read _Hogwarts, A History_ four times, why would she need to explain it to her friends? Especially since they've been here for six years when she's only been here less than three months."

"So back to Peter's original question: what are we suggesting about Harry and Hermione?" Sirius asked. His brain was starting to hurt; what was happening here?

"I say we ask them," James said at last. "We sit down and we talk to them. Get some answers."

"Right now?" Sirius asked. He jumped off his chair and started to walk over to the exit.

"No," Remus answered at once. "We, all of us, _need_ to finish our potion's essay. If we don't, Smirch will fail us for sure."

Sirius groaned. "I hate it when you're right."

Sirius tapped the stone wall door as the other three got out of their chairs, weary of their homework ahead of them, plus the conversation they were just itching to have with the two new students. Sirius turned around to stride out of the passageway, but came face to face with a pallid, hook-nosed boy.

"Snivellus," growled Sirius.

"Tsk tsk, Black," Snape sneered. "You seemed to have strayed away from your cozy little common room. Oh, and look! It seems to be past curfew." Snape's sneer grew eviler. "That's a total of seven times in the past month, isn't it? And yet you never seem to be punished." Snape looked over Sirius's shoulder to see James, Peter, and Remus coming out of the secret passageway also. "And hiding out in a corridor not approved by the teachers. This can't be good for Gryffindor, can it?"

"_Obliviate_" Sirius yawned. Snape fell, crumpled on the ground with a heavily dazed look in his eyes. "Let's get out of here before mon capitaine graisseux finally realizes it was us he was tracking down."

And minutes later, the four Marauders were racing up the stairs to the portrait. Remus breathed the password and jogged over to his homework. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry and Hermione walking up the stairs in the back that lead to the dormitories.

"Hey Remus," Peter said as he trotted up behind Remus.

"Yeah, Peter?"

"Isn't tomorrow night a full moon?" he asked quietly.

A shadow grew over Remus's face. "Yes, it is." Remus grabbed his parchment and quill and went straight to the table by the fire. He immediately started to work, his mind focusing on potions. He felt Sirius plop down on the floor beside him, and James curl up in a chair, Peter occupying the other.

"Mates, what are we going to for tomorrow night?" Remus asked quietly. James and Sirius looked up, confused. "Full moon and all…"

"What about it?" Sirius asked.

"We'll be right by your side, as always," James said as if it was the simplest thing ever.

"But what about Harry?" Remus countered.

"Oh let him worry," Sirius said, waving his hand impatiently.

"But we're becoming suspicious of what he's up to," Remus said. "What if he's putting two and two together also? What if he finds out?" He looked anxiously at his friends. "I mean, you three figured it out…"

"Are you suggesting that we don't go with you?" Peter asked, sounding completely surprised.

"No…" Remus answered slowly. "Just wait a little while after I go. Once Harry's asleep, go to the shack."

Sirius sighed but nodded with James. He shifted on the floor and started to write about the properties of a hair from the back of a Jarvey.

It was well past midnight before they finished their potion essay and transfiguration short answer. All four were too tired to talk to Harry, so they fell asleep straight away.

"Moony, Paddyfoot, wake up!" James yelled the next morning. "We have ten minutes before class starts!"

Remus launched himself out of bed like a rocket and sprinted to his trunk. He threw aside dirty clothes, searching frantically for some clean, non-wrinkled shirts.

Sirius, on the other hand, groaned and chucked his pillow at James, moaning something about five more minutes.

"Where are Harry and Peter?" Remus asked as he literally jumped into his trousers.

"They already left," James said. "I was given the duty of waking you two up." He strolled over to Sirius's bed. He leaned in so he was mouth was right next to Sirius's ear. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star!" James started to softly sing in his ear. "How I wonder what you are." Sirius unconsciously rolled over and started to sing the child's song with James.

"Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky." Sirius said. He slowly rose up from his bed. "Twinkle, Twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are." Sirius yawned loudly like a dog. "Good morning, Prongs," he said cheerfully.

"How come you wake up willingly and with a smile when we sing that stupid kiddie song?" Remus asked as he did his tie.

"It's a childhood thing," Sirius answered noncommittally. He reached for his pants and clean shirt and started to get dressed. James just shrugged and grabbed his robe.

* * *

"C'mon Prongs! You can run faster than that!" Sirius yelled over his shoulder. He was sprinting down the empty corridor that led to the Transfiguration classroom, with James right behind him.

"I ate a huge lunch, Padfoot, cut me some slack!" James growled. He sped up his pace and was soon even with his friend.

"Pathetic," Sirius laughed.

James just raised his eyebrows. He pushed himself a little further and was soon a meter ahead of Sirius. "Looks who's pathetic now! Woohoo!" Almost missing the door completely, James didn't have time to slow himself down. He clenched the door frame and swung himself inside the classroom. Stumbling into the classroom, he did a summersault, landing on his bottom. Sirius came trotting in moments later, laughing his head off. James just jumped up and did the pose Muggle Gymnasts did after their routine, grinning like mad.

Professor McGonagall had been sitting quietly at her desk, waiting for her last two students to arrive. Now she was rubbing her temples and muttering to herself as girls giggled at James and Sirius's entrance. She slowly stood up, and spoke in a crisp, edgy voice, "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, please sit down so we can start our lesson today. Try not to make such a scene next time."

"Yes, professor," the two boys said harmoniously, concealing their grins terribly. They slid into the two empty seats in the back and pulled out their wands.

Professor McGonagall sighed heavily. She stepped in front of the class, scanning the dead silent class with hawk eyes.

"Today… we will start performing Animal Transfigurations on ourselves. You should have every aspect of the spell engraved on the inside of your skulls by now," her eyes lingered on Peter, who gulped, "so this shouldn't be hard at all for you… hopefully. Wands out."

"Well, that lesson proved to be… interesting," James commented as the four boys walked out of the classroom an hour later.

"Did Peter ever get rid of his rat tail yet?" Sirius asked concernedly.

"Naw, he never came back from the hospital yet," Remus answered. He glanced at James and Sirius. "I think I'm going to check up on him. I'm not feeling so well myself."

"Okay Moony," James said.

"See you after dinner," Harry said. He was trying to act as normal as possible, even though he knew it was a full moon that night.

"Maybe," Remus muttered as he walked away.

Once Remus was out of sight, Sirius eagerly turned to his other two friends. "Did you see Snape when he tried to Transfigure himself?"

"No, what happened?" James asked excitedly.

"Ah, it was priceless. You know how we were supposed to be practicing on how to turn into a cat? Well, his spell started out slower than all the rest. Gradually, every few minutes, he would sprout whiskers, and then ears, and then a tail, and then the glowing cat eyes. And he would never notice it, thinking that he was doing something wrong!"

"You didn't make his spell go array, did you?" Harry asked wearily.

"No, he messed up on his own," Sirius said gleefully.

"Damn, I missed it," James said sadly.

"That's 'cuz you were staring at Miss Evans the entire time," Sirius said matter-of-fact.

"Shut it," James growled, but with no venom. Sirius didn't say any more, but just kept a superb smirk on his face.

"Hey look, it's snowing," Harry said lightly, looking out the windows they passed.

James and Sirius exchanged a glance of worry before returning to their usual smirks. They would be trudging out in the snow late that night. They had to be careful.

Remus never came back after dinner. No one had seen him since he went to visit Peter. James and Harry were in the empty common room, deeply immersed into a raging game of wizards chess. Hermione was frantically flipping through her books at a table nearby searching for a book. Sirius and Peter were not to be found that night in the common room.

"Squash him! Squash him!" James hissed to his knight.

Harry glared at his father (in joke) across the game board as his bishop was dragged off to the side of the game. Harry directed his queen into a check against James. "Where did you get this chess set?" he asked curiously.

"This old thing?" James said egging his pawn forward. "It was once my great-grandfather's. It's been in my family for ages."

Harry frowned, but tried to mask it with a concentrated face.

"Harry?" Hermione came up from behind James with a worried look no her face. "Have you seen my book on Animal Transfigurations?" she asked worried, glancing around the table at which James and Harry were at.

Both boys shook their heads.

"Did you ever bring it back from the library?" James asked.

Hermione's eyes widened. "No, I didn't!" And without another word, Hermione went out the portrait hole.

Hermione was quickly walking through the corridors, taking lefts and rights every where, trying to get to the library. A shrill laughter rang through a hall up ahead. Hermione was about to silently slip past when she heard another familiar voice.

"So I saw old Snivelly watching Moony crossing the grounds in the snow to the shack. But he heard me and started to get on me about… about my family. About what my mother has been saying about me…"

"And that's when you told him to go after Remus?" Peter said, thrilled.

"I can't wait to see Snivellus's face when he sees a real werewolf," Sirius growled maliciously.

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks.

_"Sirius thought it would be—er—amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me." _

The story of Remus and Sirius's childhood that Remus had recited in Hermione's third year echoed in her mind.

_"Well, of course, Snape tried it—if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf."_

Wasn't James supposed to rescue Snape? …But he's busy playing chess… with Harry! He wouldn't have found out about Sirius's horrible trick because he's with Harry this time, not Sirius. It'll be too late!

Hermione sprinted back to the common room as fast as her feet would carry her. Her side was burning, but she had to keep this time as similar as it had been before. She gasped the password to the Fat Lady and swung the portrait open forcefully. She ran straight to James and Harry, who had looked up from their game to Hermione pink in the face and gasping for breath.

"What's—" Harry started, but Hermione cut him short.

"James, you need to go down to the Whomping Willow NOW!" she yelled frantically, holding her side.

Both James and Harry stared wide-eyed at Hermione. James recovered first.

"Why?" he asked noncommittally.

Hermione bit her lip for a second. She could reveal her and Harry's secret… but she definitely couldn't let Snape die.

"Sirius told Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow," she said, her breaths still uneven.

James stared at Hermione some more. "What are you talking about?" he asked cautiously.

"You have to go save Snape from Remus… NOW!" Hermione yelled madly.

Harry stepped in. It all finally clicked. "James, look, we know that Remus is a werewolf. Sirius has told Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow to see where Remus goes. If you don't get there quickly, Snape'll die, and everyone's secret will be out."

James looked between Harry and Hermione. "Are you sure you heard right?" he asked Hermione solemnly. Hermione nodded fervently, calming her breaths down. James sighed heavily. This was just the thing Sirius would do, especially after that letter his mother had sent him today.

James raced over to the window, and could see a lonesome, dark figure trudge across the grounds. Snape. He turned around to face Harry and Hermione, their eyes were boring into his.

"Tell Sirius to get his arse down at the shack at once, along with Peter… We'll talk about this later," James added in a strict, cold voice.

He swerved around and leapt out the window. He fell a few feet before he transfigured himself into a hawk and soared down onto the grounds.

Harry and Hermione didn't even look at each other, but in unison, dashed out of the common room and down stairs to where Hermione had spotted Sirius moments before.

"Sirius!" Hermione yelled down the empty corridor once they arrived.

Sirius's head popped out from another corridor leading out of the one Hermione had just yelled into.

"You rang?" Sirius said suavely. He sauntered back into the hall, with Peter shuffling behind.

"James told us to tell you to get your arse down at the shack, along with you, Peter," Hermione said at once, delaying not a moment.

"What shack?" Sirius asked, wearing a clueless mask.

"The Shrieking Shack!" Harry spat. "The place where Remus is about to kill an innocent person that you sent if you don't get there in time to help James!"

Sirius and Peter's eyes opened wide, just like James's did, and their mouths hung agape.

"Well, don't just stand there," Hermione said hotly. "GO!"

Without a blink of an eye, Sirius and Peter spun around and ran towards the main entrance doors. Sirius looked over his shoulder at Hermione. His face looked more confused than ever, but he kept on running.

"So what do we do now?" Harry asked quietly once Sirius and Peter were gone.

"Well, they'll be out most of the night," Hermione said, slowly making her way back to the common room. "They'll most likely go to Dumbledore's office after they retrieve Snape. Dumbledore will have a talk with them. And they'll go to bed."

"But they'll want to wait for Remus before they start to ask questions to us, won't they?" Harry asked, along stride with Hermione.

"They'll wait for him, yes," said Hermione.

"Then we can go to sleep?" Harry asked through a yawn.

"I'm sure we can, Harry," Hermione said through a weak laugh.

"Do you think they'll tell Dumbledore about… us knowing about Remus?" Harry asked solemnly.

Hermione shook her head. "They'll be smart enough to keep us out of it."

"So what do you think'll happen?"

Hermione looked at the stone floor. "I… I don't know."

Across the grounds outside in the cold weather, a hawk swooped down onto a tree. It suddenly started to grow in size, its wings spreading out into human arms, its feathers disappearing into flesh and cloth. Now a raven-haired boy was perched on the low branch. He jumped down, landing like a cat, in the snow.

Another boy, huddled in thick, worn-out robes, was only a couple of meters away from another tree; a thrashing tree. The Whomping Willow. Snape picked up a stick near the ground and clenched it tightly in his fist. Ducked down on all fours and prodded a spot on the tree. The tree froze. The Slytherin smirked before crawling under the roots of the tree.

James was sprinting forward the moment Snape picked up the stick. Just as the tree started to move again, James dove head first into the roots.

Running at the edge of the Forbidden Forest were two animals: a large, bear-like dog, and on the dog's back was a rat trying to find its balance between the shoulder blades of the dog. It never slowed its pace as it darted through the branches of tangent trees. Sirius stopped suddenly at the very edge of the Whomping Willow and bent down to let Peter climb off. The rat scurried forward, dodged the whip-like branches, and pressed the knot on the tree trunk.

The tree stopped moving.

Now two teenage boys were standing at the base of the tree. Sirius and Peter heard a scuffle from inside the tree, next a howl, and then a girl-ish shriek, then an _Immobulus_, and then nothing more. Sirius and Peter looked at each other fretfully. They were about to dive into the passageway when James popped his head out.

James was practically dragging a furious Snape out of the tunnel. Once James saw Sirius's face, he glared bloody swords at his friend. When Sirius went to help James, James growled, "Geroff, Black."

At last, James, Snape, Sirius, and Peter were out of striking distance of the Whomping Willow.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" James yelled at Sirius. Peter had to step in between the two to stop James from punching his best friend.

"Are you meaning to tell me that Lupin—is a werewolf?!" Snape yelled hysterically. He ripped his arm out of James's grip, glaring at the three boys, waiting for an answer. James forgot his anger for a moment. Snape knew. "So _that's_ what you four do every month. _That's _why Lupin is always visiting his sick mother, or whatever his excuse is…" A look of dawning lit up his hook-nosed face. "You four are going to be expelled for sure this time," he said gleefully, resting his eyes on James. "There's no way anyone, let alone Dumbledore, would let Lupin stay here now."

And at that, Snape ran ahead of them, heading towards the castle.

"What're we going to do, James?" asked Peter in a far-away tone.

James sniffed and picked up his heavy foot out of the snow. "We'll have to speak to Dumbledore and face our doom." He shot Sirius a loaded glare over his shoulder. Sirius's figure seemed to wilt with disappointment.

Halfway across the grounds, Sirius spoke up. "But James—how did you know that I had told Snape?"

James sniffed again. "Harry and Hermione… they told me."

Sirius's back straightened. "How did they find out? How did they know about Remus?"

"Your guess is as good as ours." James sighed. "We'll have to talk to them in the morning—with Remus, once he gets out of the Hospital Wing." Sirius and Peter nodded. "What, Padfoot, made you tell Snape?" James asked exasperatedly. "Why would you do that to our friend?"

Sirius stared hard at the ground like a little child being scolded. "I—I was in a foul mood after my mother sent me that letter—and Snape heard about it somehow—and he was just really pissing me off… I'm sorry, Prongs. I'm really sorry." And indeed he sounded it.

"Don't tell me that," James barked back. "I wouldn't be surprised if Remus doesn't talk to you for weeks. You could have been responsible for Remus murdering someone! He couldn't deal with that!" James opened his mouth, thought, and closed it with a snap. They said nothing more on their way to Dumbledore's office.

"Mr. Snape," Dumbledore yawned at his office door, still in his sleeping gown, "how pleasant it is to see you—"

"Sir, Lupin is a werewolf," interrupted Snape, glancing back over his shoulder. He didn't know how far behind _the Marauders_ were.

Dumbledore, taken by surprise, looked hard into Snape's eyes. "Yes, I know," he said at last.

"You knew?" Snape repeated angrily. "You knew that there is a killer roaming around the school grounds once a month?"

"Please, sit down Severus," Dumbledore said, stepping out of the way to reveal his office to Snape. Snape, though, didn't find it to be very impressive; he had been there many times before, involving a certain group of four Gryffindor boys. Snape shuffled off to a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk. "One, Mr. Lupin has never killed anyone in his entire life. And two, he has never roamed freely around this school. He is kept safe inside the Shrieking Shack." The headmaster paused. "Now, how did you come across this information, Mr. Snape?"

Snape opened his mouth, when suddenly the doors behind him slowly creaked open. James, Sirius, and Peter stepped through though with no trace of their usual childlike grins anywhere.

"Them," Snape growled, pointing at the three boys.

"Ah, gentlemen," Dumbledore said, though not in his usual warm voice. "Come, sit down. We have quite a lot to discuss about."

The three Gryffindors glanced at each other before conjuring up some chairs and sitting down.

"Do you have anything to say for yourselves?" Dumbledore asked calmly. He steepled his fingers and gazed heavily at the boys.

"I—I told Snape of the whereabouts of Remus, sir," Sirius said, looking at his hands in his lap.

"And what do you, Mr. Potter and Mr. Pettigrew, have to do with this?"

"I—I pulled Snape away from—from Lupin," James said quietly.

"You saved him?" Dumbledore asked. He leaned forward slightly.

"Y—yes," James answered. He mimicked Sirius and stared down at his hands. Snape glared at James.

Twenty minutes later, the three Gryffindor boys emerged from Dumbledore's office. Snape had to stay a few minutes later.

"I'd thought we'd be expelled for sure," said James with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah…"

"Just one thing, Padfoot," Peter started. "How come you didn't mention Harry or Hermione?"

James looked at Sirius too. "Yeah, I was wondering about that."

Sirius gazed out the window. "I didn't want to get them into trouble. I just wanted to figure things out for myself. They have a lot of explaining to do, but I want to get all the facts before I run and tell Dumbledore."

Peter nodded, while James smirked. "And it wouldn't be because you fancy one of them and you don't want her punished, would it?"

Sirius smiled and looked at James. "Now why would you say that?"

* * *

"I wonder how Remus is doing," Peter commented up the stairs leading to their room.

"I hope he's okay," Sirius said worriedly.

"He will be," James said confidently. "He's managed without us for years." He pushed open the door to find Harry in a deep sleep behind the half-open curtains around his bed. "We'll talk tomorrow. Right now, let's get some sleep."

"Good night, mates," Peter yawned. He collapsed on his bed without even taking off his uniform. A faint snore could be heard until James muttered a silence spell. The snoring ceased (though Peter's mouth still hung open).

"Hey Sirius?" James said as he slipped into his pajamas.

"Hm?" Sirius crawled into his bed.

"Have I ever told you that you are one complete idiot?"

Sirius smiled a hollow, emotionless grin. "Too many times, Prongs, too many times…"

A/N: You don't know how frustrated I am with my football practice. It never used to be so time-consuming! I hope to update soon once I get into the swing of things (which I'm already starting to). But I'm not sorry to leave you all hanging about what will happen during the conversation with the Marauders and the time-travelers. I just love cliffhangers!

To my reviewers:

Thanks to: Secretly Smiling, Draco's Slytherin Princess, lupinfan, jessa1234, Flaignhan, Niphredel Black, HarryNDracosDarlin, dawn1, Dancerchick314, Larna Mandrea, khuu-khuu, brillokatti, Allison, Sugary Peach Tea, iluvsiriusblacksnufflespa, Paige Malfoy, NightEyes18, and Roxxie-Hart. You all are great!

StrawberriSpoons: Er—sorry. I'm actually an anti-Harry/Hermione. I don't really _hate_ Harry/Hermione's, I just don't believe in them (I don't believe in Sirius/Hermione or Remus/Hermione ones either, but I just love the Marauders).

I Love Conte: Yes, I _know_ Ron will end up with Hermione… in the books.

Stargazer starluver: Impatient much? Those chapters are needed to bring the plot up… (Same to you PIECEOCAKE)

Shelby H: It's all right, I can tell you. Remus and Sirius (since he will be alive) will remember everything. Well, everything they could remember after almost twenty years.

Kou Shun'u: Look below to find all the answers to my "mistakes". It would be funny if Ron came back, but I've got it all planned out. I think you'll like it (along with everyone else). Thanks.

Doodler Girl: Oh, school is completely hard. So much homework and football practice! I haven't even had the time to email my friends! Thanks!

Notes to EVERYONE who reads this story:

There won't be any more flash-forward unless I happen to change my mind (which I don't think I will). I've got it planned out, and a flash-forward would just sort of ruins it. Sorry!

Notes to those who "found" mistakes:

James IS Chaser, folks. J.K. Rowling said it herself. Check it out on if you want, since that site is dubbed the best Harry Potter website out there. The movie is misleading (as is chapter 28 in book five with the whole snitch-catching thing).

"'I've never been in detention before,' Hermione said sheepishly." Good point, but I was thinking about REAL detention. Like class work type. Sorry if I didn't articulate enough. I just assumed everyone would understand.

As for all the songs and their release dates… This is just a fanfiction. I don't spend my time researching the DATES of songs that are just meant to be a frivolous part of my story.

"Sirius's eyes widened before he started to fall backwards, just as he did in the Department of Mysteries." Do you think Harry NEVER talked to his friends about what he saw back in the Department of Mysteries?

Next Chapter:

The Time-travelers talk to the Marauders. How much will the twosome tell the four curious and confused boys?


	21. Chapter 21: The Erudite Explanation

**Chapter 21: The Erudite Explanation**

Many people have dreamless sleeps. Some have nights where the dreams are banging around the inside of their head, full of color, depth, and, most importantly, imagination. Others have sleeps where the dreams took an absence. The sleeper is actually only half-asleep; they are aware of their surroundings, but at the same time, are in a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, Sirius, half-asleep, felt something dent the foot of his bed slightly. He yawned almost at full volume and stretched his arms. He figured that it was James at the end of his bed, so he disregarded it completely. Only after he rubbed his eyes clear of sleep did he realize that James never had bushy brown hair.

"Good morning, Sirius. Get up," Hermione whispered, but not with that much inflection. When Sirius stared at her blankly, his mouth agape, she added, "Now would be a good time."

Sirius smirked, his wittiness (though nothing compared to Remus's wittiness) came flooding back to him. "Good morning to you too, Hermione," he said cheerfully. "I hope you had a good night's rest?" he asked, his voice chock full of sarcasm.

Hermione smiled but rolled her eyes all the same. She jumped off of Sirius's bed and made her way to James's bed. Conversationally, she said to Sirius over her shoulder, "You know, it's a very difficult task to wake you up."

"Very few succeed," Sirius laughed his trademark bark. "And then they usually regret it." He barked again before tearing off the sheets off of him. Slowly getting out of bed, he scratched his bare chest and stretched once more. He noticed that Hermione was already fully dressed and ready for the day. He glanced at the window. It was snowing again. "Egh, what time is it?"

"Eleven in the morning," she said without looking at him. "Erm, can you wake up James please?" She shoved the inactive James, but he still had no sign of waking up anytime soon. Hermione looked over her shoulder to see Sirius coming her way, still in his pajama pants… only his pajama pants. She stepped aside and stared at the ground bashfully.

"Sure thing, milady," Sirius answered with a great grin on his face. He ripped back the curtains. James had his bottom up in the air, hugging his stuffed snitch like a little kid. Sirius was about to kick James off of the bed, but remembered at the last minute that James was still angry at Sirius for the previous night's episode. Sirius sat on the bed beside James and started to sing. "Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are." He held the last note extendedly with his rich voice obnoxiously. He smirked as he saw a fand appear over James's shoulder, waving meekly, as if shooing a cat.

"Goaway," James moaned from his sleep. "Yeave me alone." James twisted to his side facing away from Sirius.

"James," Hermione interrupted briskly, "it is eleven o' clock. Remus is waiting for everyone in the Hospital Wing, completely clueless of last night's… incident. And what are you doing? You're sleeping." She sounded quite like a teacher scolding her misbehaving student.

"I hate it when other people are right," James groaned before sitting up in his bed too. He, too, stretched, rubbed his eyes, and scratched his bare chest. He hopped out of bed and went over to Peter's bed. "Oy, Pete! Wake up!" James banged on the bed posts of Peter's frame until Peter replied with a loud, "Shut it, I'm awake already!"

Before anyone knew it, Harry was standing beside Hermione, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Hermione was tapping her toe as she waited.

"Er—Hermione?" James started.

"I know you want to see _me_ get dressed, but can't you give the other boys some privacy?" Sirius finished, his usual smirk back on his face again.

"Black, I've told you that you're quite self-centered, haven't I?" Hermione said with a smile as she walked towards the door.

"Maybe once or twice," said Sirius. He winked at her a moment before she closed the door.

* * *

Peter, James, Sirius, Hermione, and Harry were quickly walking in a straight line down the hall guiding them to the Hospital Wing where Remus lay. They all kept shooting odd looks at each other nonstop. Sirius looked as if he was going to say something, but they had reached the Hospital Wing doors. They were guarded by a glaring Madam Pomfrey.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Lupin will not have any visitors until he is ready to leave," she snapped.

"Did he say that or do you?" Sirius said edgily.

The nurse glared some more. "Me, but I'm sure if Lupin was ready to talk, he'd say it himself, too." And she spun on her heals and went inside her office.

"Well, I suppose we could wait," Hermione said uncertainly.

James scoffed. "No, we are going to talk, all six of us."

"But how can we get Lupin out of there without Madam Pomfrey blowing up?" Harry asked.

"Harry, you forget who you're with," James grinned.

"We just need someone to take his place…" Sirius said thoughtfully.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor!" barked a younger voice from down the hall.

"For what, Reggie?" drawled Sirius. He rolled his head to find Regulus Black stalking down the hall with an annoying bounce in his step, his chest puffed out.

"For blocking the entrance to the Hospital Wing," Regulus said with an annoying smirk.

"You're not even going in there," James countered, his hand sneaking unnoticeably into his pocket.

But Sirius just looked at Regulus as though seeing the young fifth year for the fist time. "Hey Regulus, you're going to help out with a problem of mine, just like the little brother you wanted to be before Hogwarts, all right?"

"What are you talking about, Siri—" Regulus started to ask.

"_Stupefy_!" Sirius cried out as he whipped his wand out of his pocket. But it was James, also, who used that spell on the younger Black. Regulus slumped onto the floor, unconscious.

"What did you do that for?" Hermione squealed.

James and Peter strode forward and seized Regulus under the arm. They dragged him over to the closed doors of the Hospital Wing. "We're going to use one of the Polyjuice potions Pomfrey has to transfigure Regulus into Remus so the real Remus can leave with us," Sirius said simply.

"That was quick thinking," said Harry, impressed.

"But where are you going to get a Polyjuice potion?" Hermione asked.

"Madam Pomfrey always has a spare potion for everything," Peter answered. "We'll steal one of them."

"You two wait outside while we get Remus," James instructed. "It won't take us more than a few minutes." The three Marauders turned to leave.

"Wait," Hermione said quickly. They looked at her. "Harry and I'll cause a distraction if you need it."

Sirius and James looked at each other.

"If you can, that'd be great," Sirius said gratefully.

"Just make sure Madam Pomfrey isn't by the front doors when we come back," James added.

Peter, James, and Sirius, dragging Regulus sneaked into the Hospital Wing as quietly as possible.

"Sliticus, Harry," Hermione whispered, sitting down the ground and rolling up her pant leg just a little. "On my ankle. Deep."

Harry looked hesitant, but saw Hermione's stubborn face and knew he had no choice. "_Sliticus_!" he whispered. Hermione winced but didn't make another sound. Harry shot a worried look at her before jogging into Madam Pomfrey's office. Harry caught sight of Sirius's shoe at the bottom of a curtain right outside the nurse's door.

James saw (through a tiny slit in the curtain) Harry jog into Madam Pomfrey's office, looking out of breath and sounding very worried. Moments later, Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office, looking quite perturbed, with Harry walking behind her. He winked at the curtains. This was James's cue.

James popped out from behind the curtain, tiptoed into the office, and grabbed a full flask of a Polyjuice potion from a cabinet. He headed straight for Remus's bed right after. The werewolf was laying on his usual bed with his eyes staring blankly out the window. His head turned when James entered.

"James, what're you doing—" Remus started to ask, but James put his finger up to his lips and went "Shh, we're breaking you outta here." James snickered silently.

"Why do you need to 'break me outta here'—OW!" Remus yelped. James had strode over to him and plucked out a few of Remus's hairs from his head. "What'd you do that—wait. You aren't going to…" Remus trailed off as Sirius and Peter entered the area, lugging Regulus by the arms. "You aren't doing what I think you're doing, are you? Why is it so important that I get out of here? What's happening that is making you three attack Sirius's little brother just so I can get out of here?" Remus asked frantically.

"Remus—Harry and Hermione know you are a werewolf," James said at once.

Remus blinked. "Get me outta here."

Five minutes later, Peter, James, Sirius, Remus, Hermione, and Harry were walking (limping in Hermione and Remus's case) down the halls to the boys' dormitory. Again, all were giving each other odd looks of puzzlement, especially Remus.

"So what happened last night?" Remus asked as he carefully eased himself onto his bed. The previous night he had really beat himself up, sine he did not have his usual friends to help him. Just the walk back to the dormitories had tired him out. He didn't have much energy to do anything physical after that rough full moon.

Peter had flopped on his bed, lying on his stomach, looking anxiously between James and Harry, occasionally glancing at Remus and Sirius. Harry was sitting at the foot of his bed, head in his hands. Leaning against the wooden post of his bed, his legs crossed out in front of him, Sirius lounged looking concerned. "Where's Hermione?" he asked in a quite voice.

"She's telling Lily not to wait up for her at lunch," Harry answered, not lifting his head up, making his voice sound muffled.

They all sat in silence, waiting for Hermione.

A minute had passed when the door creaked open and Hermione stepped in. She looked around the room, wondering where to sit. Sirius let his legs fall of the long side of his bed and scooted to a side to make some room for her, since the side of his bed was pushed up against the wall. Hermione hesitated, but sat next to him anyways.

"As I was saying, what happened last night?" Remus asked. He was too confused and worried to care about Sirius and Hermione at the moment. He looked apprehensively between the other five people.

Everyone looked at Sirius.

"Well, it all started when I—when I told Snape to go down to the Whomping Willow," Sirius started, but was interrupted by a maddened snort.

"You did what?!" Remus yelped. James whispered something and pointed his wand at the door.

"Well, he was going on and on about my family… and I wasn't thinking—"

"That," Remus said, pronouncing his words with deep disgust, "is obvious."

"And then Hermione must've overheard me telling Peter about it," Sirius carried on, glancing at Hermione on his left, who shifted slightly in her seat. "I don't know what happened next…"

Hermione shifted again in her seat. "I ran back to the common room and told James about Snape. He ordered that Sirius and Peter be at the Whomping Willow and then he flew out the window down to Snape."

"We ran back down stairs to pass on the instruction to Sirius," Harry continued. "Those two left for the Shrieking Shack, and Hermione and I—went to bed."

"Meanwhile, I flew down to the Willow, chasing after Snape," James said, not so sure of himself. "He had already gotten into the passageway when I got to him. I pulled him out of there, but not before Snape caught a—a glimpse of you," James added apologetically.

"He saw me?!" yelled Remus, outraged. He rounded on Sirius. "Oh, I'm gonna kill you!" He actually leapt off his bed and ran towards Sirius across the room. Sirius winced and waited for the impact. James and Peter jumped to their feet and held Remus back just before he got to Sirius. "Let me go," Remus growled. "He told on me! He… told… on… me…" Remus panted and stopped struggling out of James and Peter's arms.

Harry and Hermione sat stunned. They had never seen Remus so angry. But it _was_ a night after the full moon, and Remus thought his secret was out of the bag for sure now… Remus might even think that it was Sirius's fault that they knew about him being a werewolf…

"Remus, it's all right," James said soothingly, guiding his friend back to his bed. "Snape went straight to Dumbledore. We trailed after him, expecting expulsion. But all Dumbledore did was question what had happened, and we were just given one detention each."

"What did Dumbledore have to say about them?" Remus asked, nodding his head at Harry and Hermione.

"I didn't mention them," Sirius said quietly. He had been staring out a window, but now his saddened eyes focused on Remus. "I just told the story as if it was James who had overheard me, not Hermione."

"Why?" Remus asked.

Sirius adjusted his focus onto Hermione. "I wanted to find out what is really going on before I talk to Dumbledore."

"And you will, once Remus hears what happened," Harry answered.

"So what happened to Snape?" asked Remus, looking at James.

"Dumbledore made Snape promise not to tell anyone about your lycanthropy."

"Which brings me back to you two," Remus said, looking at the two time-travelers. "How did you know about—about—"

"You being a werewolf?" Hermione helped. Remus nodded. Hermione and Harry exchanged a glance. "You see, we know a lot more than you'd think we know."

"We also know that you three, James, Sirius, and Peter," Harry started (the three boys tried to look innocent, but James could tell what was going to happen next), "are three unregistered Animagus."

No one in the room stirred. James sat pondering, as if piecing things together in his mind. Something clicked in his eyes, even if his mind hadn't registered it yet.

"How?" Sirius asked at last.

"We also know," Harry continued, "that come every full moon, you four roam around the school grounds, even in Hogsmeade, at night in your animal forms."

"How do you know this?" Sirius repeated.

"We have been going to this school for the past six years," Hermione said.

"But we've _never_ seen you two," Sirius said. "Where have you been, then, all that time?"

"The question isn't where," Hermione said wisely. "It's when."

"You're time-travelers!" Remus yelped suddenly.

"You come from the past?" Peter said in awe.

"No… not the past," Harry said slowly.

"The future," Peter whispered in awe. "So _that's_ how you know stuff that first-timers wouldn't know," he started.

"_That's _how you know about us," Sirius added.

"_That's_… mind-boggling," said Remus.

"How far in the future are you from?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"Twenty years, I think," Harry replied.

"Whoa…" Sirius, Remus, and Peter groaned as one.

Harry wasn't looking at the three awestruck boys, but at James. He sat with a vacant expression, staring at Harry with glazed eyes. "James, what's wrong?" Harry asked concernedly.

James hadn't spoken a word. "You're—you're my son, aren't you?" he asked Harry in a hallow voice. He stared deeper into Harry's eyes, searching for truth.

Harry's eyes traveled to Hermione's. It was too late now. "Yes, James, you're my father."

None of the other silences compared to this one. Harry and James just sat staring at each other. Both pairs of eyes had a shine, a glint to them, that was unseen by everyone in that room.

"But why did you come back, then, to this time?" asked Remus at last.

"We didn't mean to," Hermione said. "It was an accident."

Sirius scoffed. "How is time-traveling an accident?"

"I—I can't tell you that," Hermione answered uncomfortably.

Remus suddenly sat up straight. "But being back here is messing up the entire timeline!"

"We talked to Dumbledore the moment we arrived, but he said that we can't travel back to our time until another time-traveler instrument is ready."

"Why not just used a Time-Turner to return?" Remus asked. "There are plenty of them around."

Hermione smiled. She should've known that Remus would know what a Time-Traveler is. "Time-Turners can't travel that far into the future."

"_That's_ why you look so much like me," James asked Harry. Harry smiled weakly and nodded. "So you _did_ inherit your good looks from me!" James grinned widely. Harry's smile broadened. He was glad James was taking this so well.

"Hey James!" Sirius said abruptly. James turned away from Harry. "Remember in the beginning of the year, we were just joking around, saying that Harry and Hermione were from the future?"

James guffawed loudly. "Ha! You're right! Hey, we're seers!"

Everyone laughed. The mood suddenly became less tense, more at ease.

"Well, are there any other secrets you'd care to tell us?" Sirius joked, nudging Hermione's side playfully.

"None that we can reveal," Hermione answered. She stood up and stretched. Everyone else followed suit.

"So, you know all four of our future selves, then?" Sirius asked, as if talking about the weather.

"Better than you'd think," Harry muttered.

"Do we still have our incredibly handsome looks?" Sirius asked suavely.

"You _are_ twenty years older than us, you realize that, don't you?" Hermione said in her laugh.

"We aren't going to tell you anything more of the future," Harry said. "Now can we please go eat? We never really had a true breakfast."

"Ah, but those Sugar Quills and Chocolate Frogs were very nutritional," James said with a smirk.

"You ate my Chocolate Frogs?!" Remus growled.

"Remus!" Sirius yelled. "Not every piece of chocolate in this room belongs to you. Someday, you'll learn to share your chocolate… Right?" Sirius added, looking to Harry.

"Shan't say nothing," Harry hummed. He stuffed his hands in his pocket and strolled out the dormitory door. Hermione chuckled and walked out after him. All four Marauders looked at each other. Sirius went to follow after Hermione, but Remus called him back.

"Now that we know what's going on, we must be careful," Remus said urgently to James, Sirius, and Peter. "We cannot, I repeat, _cannot_ go about asking about the future. Agreed?"

"Agreed," they chorused. They all filed out of the dormitory.

"It'll be hard, though," Sirius commented over his shoulder as he skipped down the stairs. "I'm just so curious about what they know…"

"I know exactly what you mean, Padfoot," James sighed.

"Yeah, like who little Prongsie is married to," Remus joked.

"Ew, who would want to marry that egotistical twit?" Lily said, coming down the stairs behind them.

James, now at the bottom of the stairs, spun around quickly to face Lily. "Lily, could you answer me this one question?" Lily huffed and shoved her hands on her hips as if extremely irritated. "When was the last time I truly acted egotistical?"

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes.

"No, seriously!" James said. "I've stopped ruffling my hair, I've stopped showing off that Snitch, I've stopped hexing people for the fun of it (mostly), I've stopped…"

Sirius groaned quietly and strolled ahead to catch up with Harry and Hermione. He didn't want to be at the scene when Lily exploded. It never turned out pretty. He scurried out the portrait hole and saw Hermione just a few meters in front of him.

"You two aren't staying here for that long, are you?" Sirius asked, stepping between Harry and Hermione.

"No…" Harry answered slowly. "Dumbledore said that we'll probably leave towards the end of the year."

Sirius's shoulders sagged. "And you won't ever visit again, will you?"

"No…" Hermione said, again, slowly. "But you will see us again, I promise you that." Harry quickly turned his head towards her, a deep and saddened look was shining in his eyes.

"Hmph," Sirius grunted, oblivious to Harry's look. He wouldn't even bother trying to get any information out of them. Harry changed the topic and started to ask about McGonagall's homework they had just gotten back. Hermione was just saying how she had gotten an 'O' on the assignment when something popped up in Sirius's head. "So this is the reason you won't date Remus or me," he interrupted Hermione's gloating. "Because it'll disrupt the timeline."

Harry snorted. "That and because we know you twenty years from now. Do you know how disturbing that would be? You're almost like a father-figure to us."

Sirius continued to ignore Harry's mumbles and looked straight at Hermione, studying her features. She had adverted her eyes and started to look at random objects: the ceiling, the floor, the suit of armor, Peeves shooting dead spiders through a pea shooter. There was a flicker in her eyes. Sirius knew that look. Hermione was masking something. Feelings, perhaps?…

"Uh huh…" Sirius said to stop Harry. "I'm sure. What's for lunch today?"

Hermione was grateful for the change of subject. She let Harry describe the entire course of the meal. She could have sworn there was drool in his mouth by the end of it.

Several minutes later, James came walking up behind them and was immediately in stride with Harry. Sirius looked James over, as if searching for something.

"No hex marks, no trace of hurt or deflated ego…" Sirius ticked off with his finger. "Are you sure that was the true Lily Evans you were arguing with back there?" Sirius smirked.

James grinned too. "I think she's actually warming up to me," James squealed with a bounce.

"You're a real pansy, you know that?" Sirius guffawed.

"No, but she honestly couldn't think of a recent time where I was 'egotistical and arrogant', as she always puts it…" he trailed off grumbling.

"Now, I wonder why she would call you those two specific things," mused Peter, coming up behind them.

"Where's Remus?" Hermione asked concernedly, searching wildly around the group.

"He's having a nice visit with our headmaster at the moment," James supplied. "Remus wanted to get things straightened out before he ever sets eyes on Snivellus—I mean Snape."

"You know, I've always wondered where you four came up with that name," Hermione pondered out loud.

"You mean you've heard it before?" Sirius inquired. He continued in an undertone, thinking out loud: "That means that she's seen Snape in the future, which means he's still alive (dammit), which means I will most likely see him after school is over with… bugger!" He straightened up and looked at Hermione again. "You were saying? …Oh yes! The history behind _Snivellus_…"

"That is a history worth hearing," James said giving a hearty chuckle.

"Or is it worth _not hearing_?" inquired Sirius with his bark-like laugh.

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other before staring at James and Sirius. "What?" they asked in unison.

"Well, you see, little Siri over here needs his ears cleaned out," James said, giving Sirius a clap on the back. He continued, seeing that the two time-travelers were still confused. "It was back in our second year…" James started, reminiscing. They had come to the Great Hall's doors and were all strolling inside, heading for Gryffindor Table.

"Back in our days of innocence," added Sirius solemnly. Harry and Hermione snorted, along with Peter. The thought of James and Sirius ever being innocent was a laughable notion indeed. All five sat down, two of them looking anxiously at James and Sirius. Peter sat back and let James and Sirius tell their story, although this did not stop Peter from listening with great glee.

"And it was after fourmysterious and anonymous'" (James used quotation hand movements at those words)"boyshad hexed Snape into throwing snowballs at the new Head Girl and Boy," carried on James with an air of smugness. "At first, Bolger, the Head Girl at the time, who had already been in a bad mood because a certain four _someones_ had jinxed the suits of armor to insult any Slytherin that passed them, thought it was Snape who threw the icy snowballs at the back of her neck, on his own free will."

"So she exploded," Sirius cut in excitedly, like a little boy boasting about his winnings. "She kept on ranting about how horrible children were becoming, and yours truly, along with my three counterparts, were there to witness the entire thing. Snape was just standing slack-jawed, wide-eyed at Bolger. But she wouldn't stop! At one point, we assumed, since we couldn't see Snape's face from our view, that his eyes were becoming watery, because Bolger said to him, in exact words, 'stop sniveling, Severus, you insignificant little prat'."

"But Sirius, who sometimes has trouble hearing things, especially at that time—"

"Snape had gotten lucky in our little duel hours before," grumbled Sirius edgily. "He had hit me with a Hard-of-Hearing Hex… I couldn't hear a thing McGonagall was telling us during class, not like I paid attention anyway…"

"But it all worked out great, didn't it?" James asked, grinning from ear to ear. "You see, Sirius had just thought Bolger had called Snape _Snivellus_."

"So," Harry interrupted, on the verge of hysteria, "you're meaning to tell us that if Snape hadn't used that hex on Sirius beforehand, everyone wouldn't be calling him Snivellus?"

"And I've noticed that he has never used that hex on us again," James laughed.

Everyone peeled into gales of laughter. The mirth died down as the five hungry teenagers dug into all the food surrounding them. Only when Snape entered the Great Hall did they laugh again. He had stormed in, his fists curled up in tight balls, and a murderous glint was sparkling in his eye, especially when he glared at the three Marauders. Hermione felt someone sit down beside her while she was looking at Snape. She turned and found Remus looking incredibly grumpy.

"What's so funny?" he asked the other to introduce his presence. His voice was steely and ornery; he was not in a playful mood.

"Oh great, here comes the attack of Moony's PMS," Sirius muttered, but loudly enough for everyone to hear. They all looked at him (Remus glowered). "Post-Moon Syndrome."

Even Remus chuckled at that one.

"What did Dumbledore have to say?" Hermione asked concernedly.

"Nothing that you don't probably know already," Remus answered quietly. He glanced over his shoulder to see Lily joining up with them. For once, she was alone. She sat down next to James grudgingly but all the same with her usual smile.

"Hi," she said to everyone, but almost immediately looked at Hermione. "Hermione, don't forget, today we are going to meet with Alyward."

"For what?" James and Sirius asked at once.

"To see if we can get any more extra points from our last quiz," Lily stated, as if it was the most obvious thing. She flipped her hair over her shoulders and turned back to Hermione. She opened her mouth, but James interrupted immediately.

"What do you need extra points on?" he asked incredulous. "You only got one wrong out of fifty-two!"

"You forgot, Prongs," Sirius entered with a drawl, "that they are the over achievers. They will stop at nothing to attain the highest scores possible." He rolled his eyes over to the two innocent-looking girls. They just shifted in their seats and continued to talk about their scores on the previous Transfiguration test.

"Well, ladies, if you will excuse us," James announced after ten minutes of eating, "the five Marauders—" Harry coughed. "Sorry, four Marauders plus Harry are due for a certain event. Adieu." He leapt like a deer off the bench and swept into a deep bow. He turned abruptly and made for the doors, with Peter stumbling behind him. Sirius and Remus took their times leaving, making sure they didn't look as ridiculously dramatic as James did. Harry just laughed, saluted the two girls, and sauntered out.

"Harry really seems to be fitting in with the 'Marauders'," Lily commented lightly. She delicately placed some clam chowder in her mouth, paused, and swallowed, grimacing. "Ah, that's hot… And I'm not so sure that Harry being with the Marauders twenty-four/seven is such a good thing." She gave a weak chuckle.

"Naw, they seem like a good bunch to hang around with," Hermione said evenly.

"Hm, I guess so," Lily agreed. "But I've never seen James take in anyone like he is with Harry. Gosh, he didn't even like Sirius at first sight. It took them a long while to get along."

"Really?" Hermione asked, completely taken away at that fact. "But they seem like brothers."

"Sirius and James? Yes, they do… But James and Harry, they seem to have some odd connection, don't they?" Hermione did not comment but continued sipping her porridge.

A/N: Eek! I am in the most grievous state right now. I'm on my knees, begging you all to forgive me for not updating for such a long time. Will you forgive me?

Also, before I continue with the reviewer thank-you's, I must apologize to those whom I corrected in my last chapter. I was in a furious mood that day, nothing was going right, and I just was a little too harsh. After I calmed down (and once everything wasn't so hectic here), I realized that I loved all your notes and corrections. It means that you really are into my story, and that's GREAT!!! So please, continue to "nitpick" (even though that is too strong of a word). I do that to Rowling's work, and I love her work (obviously). SO sorry if I seemed aggravated (cuz I was)…..

And now to all my wonderful reviewers!

**NightEyes18**: Harry and Hermione? Nah, I ALWAYS, ever since Hermione spotted the dirt on Ron's nose, thought it was going to be Hermione and Ron, especially after book four. I just pictured Harry being friends with both of them, and Ron and Hermione having one of those relationships with the whole bickering thing (like the Weasley parents).

**Shelby H**: THANKS!!!

**Pieceocake**: THANKS! Kinda hard with football practice and everything to write so often and quickly. But it's almost over….

**DarkRaven-04**: Thanks! AH HA! I knew someone was going to comment on the whole James turning into a hawk thing. You see, if you caught on in the chapters before (and I think that chapter, too), it talks about James being able to transfigure himself into any animal during a Transfiguration class. He was using simple magic to change into a hawk! lol, I know his animagus form is a stag!

**Rane2920072**: THANKS!!!

**Larna**** Mandrea**: Thanks a lot! I know, that James chess set scene just made my heart twist. I was hoping someone would comment on that.

**Flaignhan**: Thanks. And thanks for the random prawn facts. That made my family dinner very interesting a few nights ago. Hilarious.

**The Dark One Reborn**: Thanks!

**Kat**: Eh heh, to sum it up, read my note to DarkRaven-04. Come on people! I know that James's animagus form is a stag! I wrote about that in earlier chapters! I should think that you all would remember regular magic! Lol

**Secretly Smiling**: Thanks!

**Kou Shun'u**: I'M SO SORRY!!! I didn't mean to get on you for making notes of my little mistakes! I was really having a crappy day. I really appreciate it! … And good catch on the spelling thing with the "Great Niles". I never caught that! (And what's lame was I probably read that four times and never caught that). And as for the Snape thing, Snape, in book 3, kept on saying that Sirius was capable of murder at the age of sixteen…. And if you took note earlier in this story, I clearly said that Sirius had turned sixteen on August fifteenth, so be exact. Rowling never actually stated when the whole incident occurred, just the age of Sirius. I checked ::wink:: Thanks for pointing that out. I was having a bet with myself (I always do that) to see if anyone would actually ask that. I guess I won and lost! Thanks!!!

**Creeppieness**: Who said this was a Sirius/Hermione story? I said, a few chapters ago, that it was undecided (from your views). It might be Remus. It might be Sirius. But maybe pleading of some sort might settle my mind. ::wink::

**Sapphire66**: Thanks!

**HarryNDracosDarlin**: Thanks! I spent only too long thinking about the timeline of the Marauders during History

**Niphredel**** Black**: Thanks!

**Dawn1**: You know, you come up with good ideas. That's all I'm going to say. (Well, I'm gonna say "Thanks" too!)

**Doodler Girl**: THANKS!!!! I just loved spending my time during history class ::wink wink:: thinking up the entire timeline of the Marauders to fit everything into place. It was actually funny. I was thinking so hard, I didn't notice where I was staring, which was at this guy's head (the side of it). And I guess he noticed me staring at him, because he turned and asked why I was staring at him, and asked if there was something on his face. It was so funny! Glad you liked it! (Did I tell you that "marauder" is one of our vocabulary words?! Isn't that spiffy?!)

**Roxxie****-Hart**: I noticed the drop in Sirius's affection towards Hermione in that chapter 20, too. But it really wasn't about them during that one. But I was disappointed at how little they interacted in that one, so I added the sentence (can't remember exactly) where he looks back at her questionably as he runs to the Whomping Willow. But I wasn't that happy with that either. But now that the cat is out of the bag (where did that saying come from, honestly?), there will be even more feelings let loose (I hope…)

**Bharathnatyam**: Thanks! But I always frowned upon Harry/Hermione works, so that won't happen here. Good idea, though! Keep coming up with more of 'em. I kinda need them.

**Iluvsiriusblacksnufflespa**: Thanks!

**stargazer starluver**: Again, it's all right, I was edgy that day (to put it lightly). You weren't impatient. Thanks for being extremely patient!!!

**RainynDawn**: Thanks! Yeah, it's a lot harder than it looks to update every week….

**Rachel123**: Thanks!

**Mrs. Raven Wood**: Thanks!

**MidniteMarauder**: Remus is winning my heart in this contest, but it all depends on where I want to go with this story. I have two endings (actually, three), one with Remus winning, one with Sirius, and the other one shall stay in my mind. It's just so hard to choose between the Marauders! And about the middle/last part of your review, I think that Remus and Sirius are just trying to push away the fact that the other one actually does like the girl. Remus is trying to convince his mind that Sirius will just manipulate Hermione. Sirius is thinking that he can give Hermione so much more. So, they're both being ignorant little teenage boys, in other words. And sorry about making you wait so long. My apologies will never end…

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO IS READING THIS STORY! YOU ARE LOVED!

My next poll…

Should Lily find out about the two time-travelers? What do you all think?


	22. Chapter 22: Aftermath

**Chapter 22: Aftermath**

Sirius Black sauntered at a quick pace down an empty hall, whistling a jaunty tune with a lively bounce in his step. He continued down the corridor and turned into another but ran into someone. Literally. Trying to steady herself so she would not fall, she grabbed onto Sirius's arm, but ended up dragging Sirius down with her.

"Jeez, Amanda, get a hold of yourself," Sirius laughed, leaping to his feet. He held out his hand to help up Amanda Carrick, a Gryffindor fifth year. She glared at him, but grudgingly took his hand and hopped onto her feet. She was not pleased with the innuendo.

"My God, you are _so_ full of it, Black," Amanda growled. She brushed some dust off her pants and tucked a rogue strand of black hair behind her ear.

"Oh, but you know you find me _irresistible_," he cooed, sweeping his hand smoothly through his velvety hair and cocking his head with an infuriating smirk stretched across his face.

"And I just snogged Snape," she shot back with a drawl. She picked up her two books and resumed her walk down the corridor. Soon her footsteps were barely making a shadow of an echo.

"Oh yeah—she loves me," Sirius joked to himself. He started up his trek back to the Gryffindor Tower again, at a quicker pace this time. He strode past two giggling girls, who both immediately silenced all noise emitting from them when he came into hearing range. Sirius winked and raked his hand through his soft hair once more, flashing a dazzling smile. The girls, who were only in their fourth year, blushed a brick-red all the way to the very roots of their blond hair. The moment they passed the notorious Gryffindor, they shrieked with giggles. Sirius just smirked to himself again. "You've still got it, Black," he said proudly to himself.

In no time at all, he was standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. She looked up from her cup of tea and biscuit.

"Dancing pixies," he said pompously, jiggling his head just a little as he said "pixies".

"And why, Mr. Black, are we so chipper today?" the Fat Lady asked, swinging her picture open.

"Ah, just everything is going my way today." With that, he slowly meandered inside. He stopped after his first hew steps into the dizzyingly warm common room. He gazed around the room, noticing a few things—a handful of second-year girls whispering enthusiastically (Sirius heard the name Bill Weasley and figured it safe to be there), a fire crackling loudly at a corner fireplace, and a slumbering girl draped over the couch. Sirius almost squealed with delight when he saw her, but at the last second he remembered his dignity. He strode over to the sixth year and bent down over her drooping head (which was hanging over the armrest). He gazed and admired her peaceful face and bushy brown hair for just a moment before leaning in closer and closer to her face.

The kiss was slow and easing, even to Sirius's surprise. What he found even more astounding was that he started to feel Hermione kiss him back. Only after two seconds, though, her eyes snapped open and she tried to gasp, but found Sirius covering her mouth with his. She growled in utter annoyance, placed her hands on his chest and shoved him away, and sat up in an instant.

"You _really _need to stop doing that," Hermione grumbled. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve, looking grossed out.

"Aw, are you telling me you didn't enjoy that?" Sirius asked, leering suggestively at Hermione with raised eyebrows. "Because, you know… Every time I do that, I still get something in return…" He trailed off, his smile glowing from his face.

Every trace of smiling and joking left Hermione's face. "I don't know what you are talking about—"

"I think you do," Sirius interrupted immediately. He sighed. "I know we're from different backgrounds, but that doesn't mean that we still can't—"

"Twenty years!" Hermione shouted abruptly. She glanced at the girls in the far corner of the room. They stopped talking and stared at the two sixth years. One whispered something to the other three and they all turned and left without another whisper or giggle. Hermione looked back at Sirius, her eyes flashing with irritation. "In my mind, we are twenty years apart," she said, using a calm and steady tone.

"But here, we are the same age," pleaded Sirius. He slid down on the couch next to her. She moved an inch or two away.

"I will _not_ mess up our timeline," she said stubbornly. "And beside…" she turned away from Sirius, reaching for a book lying on the floor next to her bag, "you are hardly my type."

Sirius barked out a laugh. But he looked at her face and saw no certain flicker in her features. _Well that's a first for Sirius Black_… He hesitated, but plunged onwards, bracing himself. He gazed deeply at Hermione, one she did not return, but opened her book and started to read. "Why not?" he asked in a mouse-like voice.

Hermione did not react immediately. She finished reading a sentence about the wizard who impersonated Zeus in Ancient Greece, slowly closed her book, slid it into her bag on the floor, and then finally looked up at Sirius's apprehensive face. To his surprise, she did not seem irate or annoyed. She did not sigh heavily or roll her eyes, as he also predicted. If her face had to be described other than emotionless, she seemed pleased that Sirius questioned her.

"Sirius," she said in a monotone, folding her hands and laying them on her lap. "I know how you naturally act. I even now where you actions will lead you." Gazing at Sirius's fed up face, she breathed out deeply. "Sirius, I can't tell you why I won't go out with you. I can't tell you what little details of you that make me not interested. Don't you see? If I tell you, you will, subconsciously, try to change yourself for me. I can't let that happen."

"But Hermione, you've done that already," Sirius shot out, not able to keep it in. "You have changed me."

"And that's what I am afraid of."

Sirius looked at Hermione questioningly. "What's it like in the future?"

Hermione glanced shrewdly at Sirius. "More hectic than you can imagine, to say extremely vaguely and at the _very_ least."

Sirius chuckled. Silence with the quieting crackling from the fire haunted Sirius's mind, along with another troublesome thought. "Do I… do I turn out okay?" he asked as if he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Yes, Sirius, you turn out fine," Hermione answered with a slight smile. Sirius smiled back with a true grin. They stared at each other with smiles for several moments before someone entering the common room caught their attention. Remus Lupin stepped through the portrait hole, looking quite pleased about something. His grin faltered at the sight of Hermione and Sirius sitting closely together on a couch in front of a romantic fire in an empty room. Why couldn't he ever find Hermione in such a position?

"What's up mate?" Sirius asked Remus, masking his bother with flying colors. Sirius's eyes flickered over to Hermione but other than that, stared straight at his flabbergasted friend. Hermione cleared her throat and slid a good foot away from Sirius, looking back up at Remus.

"Oh, I just came back from a Prefect's meeting," Remus explained, still giving the two on the couch a hairy eye.

"Lupin, don't just stop in the middle of the portrait hole," a feminine voice sounded through the hole behind Remus. A hand reached out and playfully shoved Remus forward, causing him to stumble. Lily stepped through the hole at last. She seemed dead tired, bags under her eyes and all. "Gosh, that was a long meeting," she sighed. "Oh well, it was very productive."

"Really? I thought the Head Boy and Girl were slipping a little towards the end," Remus commented. His eyes flickered over to Sirius and Hermione, but fell right back onto Lily.

"I noticed that too," Lily said thoughtfully, oblivious of Hermione and Sirius's presence. "Maybe next year we'll have better ones."

"Of course we will, since you're going to be Head Girl," Remus said.

Lily nudged him in the side. "Yeah, I _doubt_ that would happen." She looked up and finally noticed Hermione and Sirius staring at her and Remus. "I didn't see you two there!" A crease fell between her perfect eyebrows as the sight sunk in. Hermione with Sirius? But didn't Remus fancy Hermione? …._Sirius and Hermione?!_ "I—I have homework to finish up. Hermione, will you help me with it… upstairs?"

"I'd love to," Hermione said immediately. She popped up off the couch, gathered her things, and went up the stairs ahead of Lily without any glance to the two boys. Lily, her hand on the railing, cast a fleeting look of questioning to Sirius and Remus before scampering up the stairs after Hermione.

"What was that all about?" Lily asked once they were in the safety of their dormitory. She tossed her bag on the floor and climbed onto Hermione's bed, sitting cross-legged. She sat anxiously, her eyes wide with question and thirst for information. Hermione, though, didn't seem too keen. She slowly, cautiously laid her bag down on the floor by her shoes, fixed her skirt, and unhurriedly crawled onto her bed.

"What was what all about?" Hermione asked calmly. She pulled out a book from underneath her pillow, opened up the rusty book to its bookmark, and started to read.

"You were just sitting on a couch in an empty room with Sirius Black," Lily said, as if she had broken one of the ten commandments. Lily gazed shrewdly. "And what's with this obsessive need to read all the time? Even I don't read as much…"

"We weren't doing anything, if you were thinking that," Hermione answered, ignoring Lily's side comment. Lily raised her eyebrows and made a soft snort of disbelief in the back of her throat. "We were just… talking, all right?"

"About what?" Lily asked, challenging.

"We—er… he wanted to…" Hermione looked straight up at Lily's face, full of determination. She sighed. "Do you really want to know what we were talking about?"

Lily gave Hermione an odd glance. "Yes."

Downstairs was a whole other problem arising.

Remus watched Lily scurry up the stairs before rounding on Sirius.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Remus growled. His eyes were boring into Sirius's. Sirius, however, took this lightly. He looked away from Remus and picked up a spare bit of parchment lying on the floor by the table.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Sirius said, although it was clearly obvious that he did. He flipped the empty parchment over with his fingers delicately, seeming interested.

"Oh, come now," Remus said. He crossed the room in one swift second to stand between Sirius and the fireplace. "You know that Harry and Hermione are at a great risk just being here, and you continue to flirt with someone who could end up being your daughter's age!"

Something just lit up in Sirius's eyes as he stood up slowly. "Hey, I wonder if I have any kids in the future…" he pondered thoughtfully, his eyes starting to glaze.

"Sirius! Do _not_ change the subject!" Remus hissed. He poked a finger at Sirius's chest. "You might be changing the entire future of wizarding kind by just flirting with Hermione. But no, Sirius Black doesn't think about the future, he just thinks ahead to only an hour, doesn't he?"

To Remus's aggravation, Sirius chuckled. "You're overreacting, Moony. I mean, how much of an important role can Hermione and I have in the future? Unless I defeat Voldemort single-handedly or I'm a mass murderer, I don't think I affect the 'entire wizarding kind'," (he mimicked two quotation marks with his fingers). Sirius scoffed. "And besides, you're just jealous that she's actually warming up to me…"

"Sirius Black, you've got some nerve," Remus interrupted. "You think this is all about you, don't you? For once, get off your high horse and take a look around you! There are bigger things happening, aren't there?" He gave Sirius a mind-reading glare.

Sirius shifted his weight. He felt uncomfortable. Someone was actually telling him off. Remus Lupin, as a matter of fact. Remus never contradicted Sirius or James. Not until this year, at least. Sirius actually stumbled a step or two back at the impact of his thoughts. Combing a hand through his hair, he looked up at Remus again. "She's not changing just me, now is she?"

"What're you—"

"Never mind," Sirius said quickly. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm going to go for a walk." He turned and jumped over the couch, landing on his feet with excellent balance, and strode towards the portrait hole.

"Sirius, what are you—"

"Just to clear my head." And he was gone.

"So you're telling me," Lily said slowly, sprawled out on her own bed with her head cradled in her hands, "that two Marauders fancy you, but you can't go out with either of them… because you don't want to ruin your studies and your reputation?"

Hermione nodded. What else could she have said? It seemed hardly reasonable to tell Lily Evans she was from the future. No, the only way Lily could figure out Harry's and Hermione's secret was if she put the pieces together herself. Hermione looked at Lily, anticipating a blow of some sort.

"I can understand where this is coming from… with Sirius," Lily said slowly, revolving so that she lay on her back. "But Lupin? He's sweet and there is no way he would affect your grades. Heck, he'd probably raise them up with the way he studies."

"I know, but—I've tried the whole boy thing… and it just doesn't work," Hermione sighed, thinking of another excuse. _True, he was an international Quidditch player hundreds of miles away… _

Lily stretched her back, slipped to one side, and sat straight up. "I don't know, Hermione. Though it may not be my business, I just think that there might be a reason deeper behind all this." She held a strong gaze at Hermione, one she quickly avoided. Lily gave a frustrated sigh. She was getting nowhere. This girl was almost as stubborn as she was. "Look, why don't you just try to get to know them better, hm? Hey! You know that this Friday is the last Hogsmeade trip before the Christmas break. You should spend some time with both of them."

"I'm not so sure if that's a good idea, Lily…" Hermione trailed off. "And besides, didn't we already have plans that trip?"

Lily thought for a moment. She had never failed the rest of her roommates when it came to boys. She had always helped them (even if they didn't ask) and always ended as victorious matchmaker. A sudden thought came into Lily's head, like a light bulb clicked on. "I'll make you this promise. I will spend the day with you _and _Potter's gang at Hogsmeade. What say you?"

"You would be willing to stay in close vicinity with James Potter for an entire trip at Hogsmeade… just for me?" Hermione asked with a weak smile. She forgot how nice it was to have a real close friend that was a girl.

Lily sighed, heavily, and pondered a moment, rethinking her offer. Before she could take it back, Hermione agreed with a quick, "Too late! I say yes to your proposal."

Lily smiled. "Good, then it's settled." Both smiled before switching the topic of conversation to Aylward's and Smirch's heated altercation over Quidditch teams.

Sirius, skipping down the steps at the entrance of Hogwarts with his hands stuffed in his pockets, breathed out and saw a puff of air rise in front of his eyes. It was one of Hogwart's cold, mid-December days, snow blanketing the magical grounds and ice suffocating the lake and its inhabitants. Sirius eyed all the whiteness around with a half-interest. Hugging his thick cloak around him, he felt his feet crunch as he stepped onto the snow covered grass. It was dead quiet outside, just what he needed to let his mind really wander.

As he continued down around the grounds, Sirius heard feet thumping behind him. A while back was a bespectacled boy with jet-black hair that stood almost straight up. "What do you want, Potter?" Sirius yelled over his shoulder bemusedly, slowing down to let the boy catch up with him. Moments later, he saw the puffs of air from the side of his eye and turned to look. Sirius first was about to repeat himself when he noticed a pair of bright green eyes staring at him beneath a lightening bolt shaped scar. "Now, can I actually call you Potter, since that's your real surname?"

Harry laughed, but his hot breath ended up steaming his eyeglasses. Wiping them with his gloved hands, he answered with a smile, "Call me Thewler, because no one is supposed to know about my past, remember?"

"Ah, that's right…" Sirius cast a sideways look at Harry, but looked at his feet seconds later. "Harry… where did you get that scar from? The one on your head… like a lightening bolt?"

Harry let his head roll back and closed his eyes. "You'll find out in a few short years from now, don't worry." His voice was saddened. Sirius would find James and Lily dead, see baby Harry, ask Hagrid for him, but would leave to chase after Peter, and be sent to Azkaban. Every time Harry had to think of the Marauder's futures, he had to force himself not to blurt out their fate.

"So you've had that scar for your whole life?" Sirius asked curiously. If he were Harry, he would have gotten rid of that thing a long time ago, and he was sure James, in the future, would know a spell to cover it up.

"I better not say anymore," was Harry's only answer.

The only sounds were the crunching of snow, the very light whistling of the wind, and a cry of a bird every so often. They walked quietly pass the frozen-over lake, watching the Giant Squid tap the glassy ice that covered its pond, when Sirius hit Harry with another question.

"So, any particular reason as to why you're here with me right now?" Sirius didn't speak as if accusing or hinting for solitary, but just trying to spark up conversation.

"Well, I was talking to James and Peter… and Remus in the common room…" Harry paused at Sirius's sudden scoff, but continued anyways. "And Remus mentioned how you left abruptly to… think, so I thought you might want some company."

"Er—thanks…" though Sirius didn't sound like it much. All that was on his mind was Hermione, and he doubted that Harry would want to talk about his… thing for her. Especially since Harry said Sirius is like a father-figure to him. "Isn't this awkward for you to be here?" Harry looked up with a confused look about his face. "You're here with you father when he was young, his best friends, probably your mother…" Sirius trailed off.

Harry gave him a shrewd look. He knew Sirius and James, probably Peter too, would be trying to find out anything about the future, especially who Harry's mother was. Sometimes, Harry would actually look away from direct eye contact with the four Marauders, just in case they noticed his eyes. Everyone who knew Lily always said Harry had her exact eyes.

"Well, isn't it odd?" Sirius repeated, noticing the glazed eyes on Harry.

"You couldn't imagine," Harry said, still lost in thoughts. Shaking his head, his eyes cleared a little.

"Aren't you ever just itching to tell us something about the future?" Sirius pushed. He might as well try the feeble attempts before he started to turn cunning and sly.

"Don't think that I'll let slip information that easily… But yes, sometimes I wish I could just tell you four…"

"Ah ha! So there's something to tell!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Ho ho," Harry said, sounding bored. "But I didn't come here to talk to you about the future (obviously, since I can't)."

"Then what did you come here for?" Sirius asked challengingly.

"Well, to clear up the one concept you have yet to grasp," Harry said calmly. Continuing at the look of puzzlement on Sirius's face, "Hermione, and how you shouldn't even be flirting with her."

Sirius snorted and looked towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Seriously, this could affect my future a lot more than you think it can. Also, Hermione and I, once we get back, will be in serious trouble if something major happens…" _Like if you never go to Azkaban for twelve years, or never "murder" Peter…_ continued Harry in his head. "And I just don't know what the consequences will be for us."

Sirius made a sound half way between a growl and a sigh. "I'm not going to marry her or anything. It's not like we can last that long together, now is it?" he finished with a bite. Before Harry could get a word in, Sirius carried on. "She's just—" If James trusted Harry, he, Sirius, could too, right? "I just love being around her, "Sirius sighed. "She's makes me feel… different… than any other girl does, from when she laughs with me to when she laughs at me. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Harry glanced at Sirius. "Never experienced it myself, but yes, I know what you mean (but not with Hermione, however)."

"You're telling me that you never had a thing for Hermione?" Sirius said, disbelieving.

"For almost six straight years, I never thought of her more than a friend," Harry said honestly. "But then something… tragic happened at the beginning of this past summer, and I just thought having someone close would help…"

"Can you tell me what this 'tragic' incident was?" Sirius asked softly. "Or can I not know?"

"You can't know anything from the future," Harry answered almost too sharply. Sirius faltered in his steps, taken aback at the harshness of Harry's tone. "Sorry," Harry muttered. "It's just hard to be—here—and not want to speak of the future."

Sirius was about to open his mouth to ask what Harry was keeping hidden, but decided to not push the buttons. He stayed silent for awhile, for everything he thought up dealt with Harry's time. Harry, on the other hand, was keen to hear more of the Marauder's past.

After a right amount of silence, Harry asked curiously, "What's the worst trick you four have ever done?" Snow started to lightly fall again around them.

Sirius smirked awfully. "That's a tough one…" His eyes wandered off to the clouded sky in thought, pulling back memories of past pranks. "Well, there was the time when James and I, along with Remus's instruction of the spell, had turned the entire Hogwart's population into their favourite animal…" Harry snorted. "We actually got in-school suspension for that one. Unfortunately, Miss Evans had overheard us and reported us… Hmm, what's another good one…?" Sirius suddenly clapped his hands. "Ooo! There was one time where just James and I hexed the corridor leading to the Slytherin common room so that when anyone walked out, all of their hair would fall out."

"You're not serious, are you?" Harry burst out in peels of laughter. "Oh, that's excellent!"

"Even better, all we got was a week of detention," Sirius added with a grin. "Alas, Madam Pomfrey gave them all Hair-Growing potions, and they were as right as rain by dinnertime." Sirius sighed, as if content by the mere memory of it all. But his happy thoughts were interrupted by a swift, solid, white, cold, circular form hitting him in the side of the head. Sirius looked wildly around, wiping snow out of his eyes, searching for the culprit. "JAMES POTTER! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Harry heard giggling coming from behind one of the nearby trees.

"I suggest you find cover, Black," shouted a different voice from a neighboring giggling tree.

"Lupin?!" Harry yelled out, surprised. His answer was a snowball painfully colliding with his shoulder. Sirius and Harry fled for cover, flailing their arms around, trying to maintain balance as they shuffled through the deep snow. Dodging snowball that were flying out from James, Remus, and Peter's hands, Harry and Sirius finally made it under some cover.

Everything just flew by in a flash of laughter, bewitched snowballs, and a few profanities. And only too soon, the five Gryffindor boys were trudging up the stairs and were facing the Fat Lady.

"Honestly, Potter, you didn't have to hit me so bloody hard," Sirius growled. He massaged his buttocks gingerly and winced.

"It's not my fault you can't keep your balance on a sheet of ice," James started.

"And also the fact that James wouldn't stop targeting your one hurt spot afterwards," laughed Remus. James, Remus, and Peter all laughed harmoniously.

Sirius glared at the twosome for a moment, then smiled wickedly. "But you must admit Thewler and I had some pretty good tactics." His smirk pronounced even more. He and Harry had both,simultaneously jinxed iced-up snowballs to repetitively lodge themselves at the back of Remus's head, but also caused all the snow to fall off the trees that James had been standing under.

"I swear I'm going to find snow in my robes after Christmas," grumbled James.

Someone in front of them cleared their throat. They suddenly stopped their gloating smirks and dagger glares: the Fat Lady was sitting in front of the five boys with an aggravated look about her.

"Do I have to hear every single detail before you boys enter?" she asked huffily. She sniffed.

"I'm deeply sorry, my dear lady," purred Sirius, sweeping into a deep bow. "Getting a catch of the sniffles, are you? I'm sorry to hear that. Well, we'll be on our way and we shan't bother you any longer… Fuzzles." And he left with a wink.

James, Remus, Harry, and Peter just kept their laughs in until the portrait shut tightly behind them. Then they erupted in absolute mirth.

"What in name of Merlin was that about?" Peter questioned loudly, as if seriously doubting Sirius's sanity.

"'We shan't bother you any longer'?" echoed Harry, taken quite aback, though not as pink-faced as James was.

"'Getting a catch of the sniffles'?!" James let out. "Where did that come from? Honestly, Siri, you cease to amaze me sometimes…" James, still guffawing, laid an arm around Sirius's shoulder.

As Hermione and Lily were skipping down the stairs to the common room, arguing over Professor Aylward's previous lesson, they heard a sudden burst of laughter. Lily looked warily over her shoulder at Hermione, who looked equally confused, and quicken her pace.

"What? I can't be nice to the Fat Lady every once in a while," Sirius whined. He strolled animatedly over to the couches across from the heated, glowing fire.

James paused in his laughter. "But you're not supposed to seduce the paintings," he laughed exasperatedly, joining his friend by the fire. The couch and the two chairs closest to the off center fireplace was known throughout all of Gryffindor as the Marauder's Spot. No one dared to touch it. The last time a Gryffindor sat there, they had them bums bitten by the chair repeatedly until they reached the Hospital Wing.

"I always knew Black was easy," drawled an amused voice from the back stairs. Lily rounded the corner and came into view. "But I never would have guessed _that_ easy. Honestly, two-dimensional paintings…"

Sirius and James had simultaneously pivoted in their comfy spots on the couch with raised eyebrows. James was in awe that Lily was taking his side for once in mocking Sirius. And at that, James just stared at Lily as if she had just fallen from heaven.

Peter, on the other hand, just asked stupidly, "What's a dimension?"

Remus just shook his head, rubbed his temples, and sat in his usual chair.

Before Sirius could retort back, and after he feigned an indignant look, another being glided down the steps: Hermione. "I don't know, Evans, but I think I have my mind set on a certain three-dimensional woman." Sirius pointedly right over her shoulder at Hermione, who stopped like a deer in the road.

Saving Hermione from a witty retort, and the fact that James wasn't listening to a word Sirius had said, James spoke in a more mature voice to Lily. "Lily, you look cold. Want to sit next to me by the fire?" To add more, James ruffled his hair, but from his previous snowball fight, chunks of snow flew out of his hair.

Sirius and Harry burst out laughing (Sirius was almost crying). Remus bit back his laugh, but his eyes were shining with laughter. Even Peter had a hard time not laughing. Lily actually broke out into a smile.

"You sure you won't get me wet with all that snow you've kept in your hair?" she asked.

James recovered quickly. "Well, sit next to me and you can run your fingers through it, just to make sure I have no more," he continued in his deep voice.

"Just so you know, Pott—James," Lily corrected herself at Hermione's cough, "Hermione and I were planning on going to Hogsmeade with you five this weekend, but if you're going to act that egotistical…" she trailed off, waiting for the impact.

It took a moment for the Marauders and Harry to realize what Lily had just proposed, especially to Remus, James, and Sirius.

"Do my ears deceive me?" James asked at last. "Both you _and_ Hermione wanted to go to Hogsmeade with us?"

"Not if you keep up that horrible ego, Potter," Lily said. And with a smile she floated towards the portrait hole. "Oh yes, McGonagall has the list for who is staying over Christmas Break. I'm going to go sign up." She left with a grin from ear to ear.

The five boys immediately looked at Hermione.

"What?" she asked uncomfortably, with ten eyes staring at her.

"Are you really going to Hogsmeade with us?" Remus asked tentatively.

"I don't see why not," Hermione answered with a careless shrug.

"And Lily will be there too?" James asked quickly.

"As far as I know, yes… Are all five of you staying here over Christmas Break?"

"With Lily now warming up to me, of course!" James exclaimed gleefully.

"And I stay with him," Sirius answered.

"My parents are visiting my uncle in Australia, so I won't see them until summertime," was Remus's excuse.

Everyone turned to Peter. "My mum wants me home for Christmas, as always," he answered in a small, mousy tone. He seemed genuinely bummed-out. He turned to James for support.

"Don't worry, Petey," James said. "We'll pull all of our best pranks, forget all about you, and won't fill you in on any of the juicy stories," he finished sardonically. Glancing at Peter, James noted Peter' s anxious face and uptight shoulder. "Relax, Wormtail, we won't forget you…"

"Unless his mind is still occupied with Lily and Quidditch, which is all the time," Sirius added.

Only Remus noticed Hermione slowly backing out of the common room while James and Sirius were arguing. Hermione put her fingers to her lips (which was a sort of lopsided smile) towards Remus and slipped out the door. Remus smiled before turning back to the light-hearted squabble.

"I'm not the only one who's 'got it bad', Black. I know who is on your mind twenty-four/seven."

Sirius perked up like a dog. "Hey! Where did Hermione go?" He looked wildly around, his hair whipping into his face.

"She left a few minutes ago, Padfoot…" Remus groaned.

"Oh…"

Remus loosened up and let his shoulders fall against the back of the elegant Gryffindor chair. Hermione was going to Hogsmeade with him… them. "This trip is going to surely be a lot different than the last one, won't it?" he asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Yeah, let's hope we don't get drunk," James guffawed. "'Cuz we would never get our girls that way."

"Ugh, don't even remind me of that horrible experience," groaned Harry, his head in his hands.

"I thought it was kind of fun," Peter smiled.

"We weren't that bad, were we?" asked Remus.

Harry gave a twisted grin. "Moony, you sang Christmas songs with Sirius and Peter. Not on key, either, mind you."

"Ha! I didn't do anything embarrassing…" James started. He quickly looked at Harry. "Did I?"

Harry just stared at his father with a sick sort of smile. "No, you were the one trying to prove your love to a red mop, thinking it was Lily."

* * *

A/N: Almost two months. I don't think I can say sorry enough to relieve myself of the guilt inside me. I honestly didn't go a day without thinking of this story and how frustrated my reviewers were with me. And I don't have a strong excuse. No one close died. I didn't have an extremely hard schedule (though my tap dancing and honors biology classes aren't just a walk in the park). I had Internet access this entire time. But I will tell you that my whole plot of Saving Siri just vanished. I realized during one biology lesson that my ending would not work for me OR my reviewers. Therefore, I spent so much time rethinking the ending of Saving Siri. As of right now, I have a hazy idea of what's going to happen, but I'm at a lost. And how can an author write their story quickly if they don't know how to end it? ::sigh:: SORRY!!!

Okay, I hate Peter, like all Marauder Fans, but I just want to say that I have reason behind shooing him out of my story for Christmas Break. You see, if you all didn't catch this already, the older Peter cannot remember much about when Harry Potter is back in his schooldays, or else he could tell Voldemort and Voldemort would take advantage of Harry Potter missing in 1996. So therefore (I love that word), Peter cannot be around Harry in the past for too long, or else he would remember (and also, the boy has poor memory, hence why he doesn't remember this in the future)…

To my beloved reviewers, I'm just going to say a quick thanks, since I know you wanted to read this chapter quickly:

Thanks to **PHSgirl, Rane2920072, Secretly Smiling, HarrryNDracosDarlin, Drama Queen 2004, DrStrangelove007, lgfrommk2931 **(yes on the joke in chapter 12!)**, khuu-khuu, Mrs. Raven Wood, PinkPuff514 **(not too late to cast votes!)**, DancerChick314, sapphire66 **(that sword is still away, right? ::nervous laugh::)**, Turtle, yaukira, DarkRaven-04, The Dark One Reborn, SashaBT245, vindicated16, Draco's Slytherin Vampiress, Niphredel Black **(high off… a hallway?)**, EmzyTrish, RainynDawn, HPprincess23, Patricia Luksich, DarkKestralSilkeQueen, lysia1982, Stormyeyes, miranda (**yes! An X-Men fan**!), Chrissy, Goddess of Idun** (another X-Men fan! You rock!)**, Gywnn-Potter, acdecnerd, Dawn1, Remusgrl01 **(not a bad idea)**, MasteroftheFlame,** **Pieceocake,** **Frk-werewolf,** **Doodler Girl, **and** Fanfic-Frankie.**

**Navi** (Nathalie): I love long reviews from my dear reviewers. It just makes me feel happy because, not only are people taking time to read my story, but also the fact that they spend time talking about it to me afterwards....... So, first and simplest first: yes, I am a girl. Phew, got that one over with (it was a tough one :wink:) Now, about James and Lily… that's a good idea. Have James find out Lily is the mother, then have him change because of that. Not bad at all… But I will certainly not let Lily know that she is the mother of Harry. You're right, that'd just be creepy. And I'm still having that inner battle between Sirius and Remus (and you're right with the Ron thing. He really is the only one I _actually_ pictured Hermione with…). I'm just so confused!........Finally, I want to say thanks! And in no way are you annoying with the long reviews. I just love them!

**Blondekat3**: A dance is an excellent idea! But just one thing: does it look too cheesy? I mean, the only dances Harry Potter has is the Yule Ball, and that is under a special circumstance. I just feel a tad bit odd adding two dances into the Marauder's Era. But, then again, this _is _a fanfic. But I think your idea just sparked some great plan… Thanks!

Sorry if I missed anyone. I'm kinda in a hurry to update!

TO ALL MY REVIEWERS:

First: So many of you commented on Harry having Lily's exact eyes, and therefore that the Marauders should find out who the mother is… People, if you take a step back and step into the Marauder's shoes, you'll see my thoughts. Everyone (other than James) thinks that Lily hates James and will hate him until the end of her days. So therefore they ignore that Harry has uncannily similar eyes to Lily. But don't worry, I'll comment about the eyes later on in the story… and I can tell you now, it'll be funny.

Second: I am wide open for suggestions. Suggestions on anything! As I said before, I have a slight idea of how this story is now going to end, but I could always use ideas form my lovely reviewers…

Third: THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME THIS LONG! YOU ALL ARE WICKED AWESOME!

Fourth:… There is no fourth. Good night!


	23. Chapter 23: ‘Twas the Night Before Hogsm...

Eh heh. First, I want to say thanks to Nathalie, for her ideas and for the reminder! **I do not own anything**, except for my magnetic monkey. It's this cool monkey that has wings and pants and its name is Charlemagne…. So it is a flying cheesemonkey that mocks you with its monkey-pants… I know. I'm random. But I just ate a slab of chocolate…

**Chapter 23: 'Twas the Night Before Hogsmeade**

"Ouch!"

"What is it, Moony?"

"What do you mean, 'what is it'? You just threw a paper airplane into my ear, Padfoot!"

Sirius smirked from his spot in the back of McGonagall's Transfiguration classroom. This was the last day of school before the students would be packing up for a Hogsmeade trip, and then the Christmas holidays would start. At the moment, it was "Research Time" in Transfiguration, or as Sirius liked to call, "Annoy-the-hell-out-of-your-friends Time".

"I did no such thing, Remus," Sirius said indignantly.

"Fine, fine," sighed Remus. He massaged his left ear gingerly before returning to his textbooks. "Just let me read in peace, please." And he was, once again, lost in his books, soaking in all the complex transfiguring spells that Albus Dumbledore had used against the Dark Lord Grindelwald during the final battle in 1945.

Sirius snickered, amused by his desk partner's solitary studying habits. The black-haired boy would have continued to irk Remus if he had not spotted a better target. A redheaded girl was innocently sitting in front of Sirius, leaning over her stack of books that laid pell-mell on her desk (which was shared with Hermione).

Lily Evans was absorbed into her books concerning Animagus transformations. While reading on which animal a witch or wizard would transfigure into, she was spinning her quill expertly in her hand. She heard a whisper behind her, but ignored it completely. While twirling her quill like a fiery baton in her hand, Lily took no notice of it. That is, until it started growing hair, a tail, and whiskers: her quill had been substituted with a rat.

"Eek! A rat!"

Lily shrieked and dropped the rat at once, scooting her chair as far as if would go from the desk. It smashed into Sirius's and Remus's desk; they both abruptly looked up.

Hermione leaned over and asked what Lily was talking about. According to Hermione, there was no rat anywhere (Mrs. Norris, a kitten, probably ate all of them). Hermione continued to look at Lily worriedly as Professor McGonagall strode quickly towards them. Her eyes were piercing and her lips were tight.

"What is the matter here, Miss Evans?" McGonagall snapped.

"M—my quill was a rat, P—professor," Lily mumbled loud enough for her neighboring classmates and McGonagall to hear.

McGonagall's eyes narrowed, shooting over to Lily's stationary, not to mention feathery, quill before landing back on Lily. She cast her eyes around the classroom with hawk-like eyes, searching for the culprit. And she found him: Sirius Black was leaning back on the hind legs of his chair with his eyes closed and a content smile on his handsome face. McGonagall, in one swift movement, was standing behind Sirius. She hit him over the head. James and Peter were snickering in the background.

"Black, did you do this?"

Sirius did not react immediately. He set his chair down on all four legs, brushed a stray strand of hair out of his face, and slowly opened his eyes, traveling with sluggishness towards McGonagall's face. "Do what?" were the words Sirius spoke with a hint of surprise. Every single student in the classroom was now watching the scene.

"Did you or did you not transfigure Miss Evans wand into a rat?" McGonagall snarled, pronouncing each word with utter annoyance. Her lips snapped tight, growing white from the pressure.

Sirius looked amused. "Why attack me? Why not question my good friend James, or Peter?"

"Mr. Potter was busy talking to Mr. Thewler the entire time, as I heard," McGonagall bit back. James and Harry, who were sitting next to each other, stopping talking immediately and snapped their jaws tight. "And as for Mr. Pettigrew, he couldn't transfigure a match into a needle, let alone a quill into a live rat."

Sirius directed his eyes over to Peter for a split second, whose blush was creeping up into his hair line, seeing as his face was buried in his arms on top of his desk. "That's a little harsh, don't you think, Minerva?" Sirius asked blasé-like.

McGonagall's nostrils flared. "How many times, Black, do I have to ask you to call me as you would any other teacher?"

"Well, that's up to you, isn't it?" Sirius smirked. He carried on quickly before Professor McGonagall could answer. "And how come you call me only by my last name while you give all the other students titles?"

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, her eyes narrowed to tiny slits, but Sirius overruled her.

"I'm the teacher's pet, aren't I?"

"Sirius Black, you are the teacher's nuisance, to say at the _very_ least," growled McGonagall.

Sirius leaned forward, anxious. "You know, Minerva, you have _beautiful _eyes."

That was the last straw.

"Detention, Black! Six o'clock. My office." Professor McGonagall spun around on her heels and crossed the classroom to her desk again. She sniffed angrily before opening a book noisily and reading its contents with fiery eyes.

Twenty minutes later everyone was filing out of the classroom. The five Gryffindor boys were already out of the class and strolling down the halls. James, Harry, and Peter were laughing hysterically at Sirius's show.

"See? Don't ever say Sirius Black backs down from a dare," Sirius said pompously.

James and Harry, two nights prior, had dared Sirius to tell "Minerva" that she had stunning eyes during class. Sirius had agreed without another thought. It was a Marauder tradition. They would always go through these little dares throughout the school year, and then rack up the points to see who won. The prize was something the Marauders would cherish dear: major gloating privilege.

James, however, was having an amusing time reenacting the dare.

"You have _beautiful_ eyes," James said mockingly to Harry, though keeping a straight face.

Harry laughed along with the other three Marauders.

James chuckled, but didn't full out laugh. "Actually, Harry, you kind of do. Your eyes remind me of Lily's," James said offhandedly.

"Oh great, Prongs, now you're seeing Lily's eyes in random people," Sirius joked. He punched his friend in the arm. "When will she get out of your head?"

"During Quidditch, of course," James said, sarcastically outraged.

Harry just adverted his eyes and stayed quiet the rest of the trip to the Great Hall. So… someone had finally noticed his, Harry's, eyes. Thankfully, others just thought it to be a joke. Harry hoped that no one would ever piece together the resemblance in Harry and Lily's eyes.

"You sure about that?" Sirius asked James. "I mean, I've seen you purposely fly past the Gryffindor section many times, Prongs."

"I don't know what you are talking about," James said airily.

"Sure you don't," Sirius said with a roll of the eyes.

"Are you accusing me of _not_ focusing during a Quidditch match? Why, that's an outrage!" James cried out. "Madness!"

"Oh yeah, and that one time when you saw Lily screaming her lungs out cheering you on, and then moments later, you fly straight into the goal post… how do you explain that?" Sirius chuckled.

"I—I don't have to. I have the right to remain silent!"

They all paused.

"Oy, where's Remus?" Sirius asked, looking around.

"Why?" asked Peter.

"Because James just totally set himself up for one of Remus's witty comments, and there was no witty comment. Moony was supposed to say 'but you just lack the capacity to remain silent' or something along the lines of that…" Sirius paused. "It's a disturbance in the Marauder traditions! Chaos shall cease for all times!"

"Er, Padfoot?" Harry interrupted. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Moony is just back there talking with Lily and Hermione."

"Oh… but still!" Sirius insisted. "He's causing a disorder in our disorderly order!"

James and Harry both shook their heads while laughing lightly. Peter just plain-out laughed his head off.

A few paces back, Remus was, too, shaking his head.

"No, that's not right," Remus said at once, shaking his head again and again. "Why would Professor Smirch wear a wig? It just doesn't make sense."

"I don't know why either," Lily agreed. "But that hair is just too shiny and… perfect for a wretched woman like her…" she trailed off mumbled incoherent words that could not have been said in front of the Headmaster. Lily looked to her left at Hermione's strange look, and to her right to spot Remus's raised eyebrows. "She _could_ have a wig, you know. No hair is that… perfect... that—"

"Okay, we get it," Remus said hastily.

"What _I _think she does is she uses potions to make it unnaturally shiny," Hermione spoke. "It's not that hard to do, anyways. I did it once to my hair for a ball at my old school…" Remus opened his mouth, thought better of it, and closed it. Hermione did not notice. "Although, it _did_ take for ever to apply…"

"So then it must be her real hair," concluded Remus. "No respected teacher would spend that much time on hair potions, and I fully doubt it's a wig. She just doesn't strike me as the… wig… wearer…" Remus just looked up as if he just noticed where he was. "Bloody hell, not again!" he cried out suddenly. He stopped in the middle of the Great Hall's entrance.

"What?" Hermione and Lily asked harmoniously.

Remus glared accusing at both girls. "You two roped me into another girl-y conversation. How many times do I have to say that I don't want to be 'one of the girls'?" Not to his surprise, Lily started to giggle and Hermione smiled and shook her head while continuing their walk.

"You're the one that joined us instead of 'the Marauders' while exiting Transfiguration," Lily pointed out.

Remus chose to ignore this. "You know what? I'm going to bring some boy-immaturity back into this conversation. Say anything and I'll respond with a proper immature thing that only a guy would say. Come on!" He waved his fingers impatiently, giving them a stare to match it.

The two Gryffindor girls just looked at each other in disbelief and amusement.

"Warlocks' Convention of 1709," Hermione said pompously.

Remus paused. Nothing immature came to mind. Just more facts on where the battle took place and who turned out victorious. "Damn it." He joined laughing with him as they sat down next to James, Sirius, Harry, and Peter.

"Dost my ears deceive me? Did I just hear Moony swear?" rang Sirius through his dinner roll.

"What's it to ya, mate?" Remus smirked right back before dishing himself some potatoes and gravy.

"You two girls are having a bad influence on our poor little Moony," scolded James, but the shining smile on his face showed he was simply jesting. "You two should stop hanging around him so much."

"Right, Remus learned how to swear… from us," Lily quipped. "That'll be the day," she mumbled to no one in particular.

"Oy, did anyone notice Professor Smirch's hair today?" Sirius asked randomly, the thought coming into his mind. "Was it me or did it look fake, or overly shiny?"

Remus, Lily, and Hermione all glanced at each other before bursting into peels of laughter that rang through the filled hall, full of hungry students and teachers waiting eagerly for their delicious food.

* * *

It turned out that James, Sirius, and Peter had pulled a prank in the middle of the night a few days prior. The prank itself remained a mystery to most students, but everyone knew that it had involved hundreds of rabbits and the Slytherin common room. So, naturally, the three Marauders were in detention on the night before Hogsmeade. Remus and Lily were doing their rounds for their Prefect duties, so it was just Harry and Hermione that night. 

Hermione was curled up by the fireplace with her homework in hand, even though it was due once the holiday break ended. Harry had filched James's already stolen Snitch and was testing his reflexes. Harry wasn't trying to show off or anything, unlike James, because only a few first years were in the common room, and they were quite befuddled with their match of wizards chess. Anyways, Harry didn't want to be out of shape when he went back to present times. (That was as far as he thought about his regular time, though.)

"Hermione, how can you stand doing homework during the first hours of our Christmas holidays?" Harry shifted in his seat again with his fist clenched tightly around the Snitch. He let it go again, only to catch it once more. "It's like blasphemy or something," he muttered under his breath. He fidgeted again. He wanted to do something. Something exciting. Something unexpected. Something _rebellious_.

"Look at you, Harry," Hermione exclaimed looking up from her parchment to see Harry's toes tapping anxiously on the floor. "You're all jittery. What's the matter?"

"It's a Friday night, and I could be doing so much more than lounging around the fireplace… I just feel like doing something, that's all," Harry said defensively.

"Something as in a prank?" Hermione asked shrewdly.

"Maybe," Harry said, once again, protectively.

"You never really thirsted for trouble back home, did you?" Hermione paused, giving time for Harry to ponder. "I think being in this time is affecting you as much as it is affecting those around us."

"Oh, that's rich, coming from you," Harry barked with a cold chuckle.

"See?" Hermione said, untouched on the outside by Harry's remark. On the inside, though, she knew he was right. "You are even developing a slight trait from one of your dear friends." Harry blinked, ignoring the struggling Snitch in his hand. "Sirius's temper."

"But what about you?" Harry asked immediately. "I may be 'developing Sirius's temper', but you—you're developing feelings for _two_ people of this era! Correct me if I'm wrong, but that seems to bend the time-traveling rules a bit more, doesn't it?"

Hermione, however, remained unruffled by his comments, but in her mind, she was livid: Harry was right. She spoke in a loud, crisp voice, her eyes never wavering from Harry's face. "I'm not if you or Ron ever noticed—"

She was interrupted by a young, redheaded boy that was passing by Harry and Hermione on his way to his dormitory. "Ron. Huh, that's a funny name. I kinda like it, though…" He skipped the rest of the way to the staircases, giggling over the name Ron. It was Bill Weasley.

Feeling quite amused, Hermione let out a soft chuckled. Harry's glare shortened her laughter. "As I was saying… I'm not sure if you or Ron ever noticed, but I really am a girl. Therefore, I can 'develop feelings' for boys."

"But couldn't you fall for one _that isn't my father's age?_" he ended in a hiss. He glowered for a moment, then gave a heavy, defeated sigh. "Why couldn't it be Ron? Hm? He's our age."

Hermione snorted. "He likes the girls with a pretty face and a horrible personality, doesn't he? I don't think he's capable of looking past a girl's face to see who she really is."

Harry looked sideways at Hermione. "You'd be surprised… Fine, not Ron, then. Why not Dean Thomas? Neville? Krum wouldn't be that bad. Hell, I'd even take Zacharias Smith!"

Raising her eyebrows in complete doubt, she gazed at Harry. "You would rather have me date that pompous Hufflepuff than Sirius or Remus, who you know very well to be all around nice boys, would you?"

"Okay, well, maybe not Zacharias, but still…" An almost invisible grin flitted across Harry's face.

"And besides, it's not like I can't help feeling for someone," Hermione added, anxious to get at least some of the deep thoughts off of her chest. "It's like when you fancied Cho—" (Harry groaned.) "—you knew she was a bit… _temperamental_, but you still fancied her."

"Until I found out that she was just too—much," Harry finished.

"And therefore," Hermione carried on strongly, ignoring Harry's side comment, "I can't stop liking someone—"

"But you can stop acting on those emotions," Harry interrupted, his emerald eyes firing up again. "So don't do anything _foolish_ tomorrow at Hogsmeade."

Hermione almost seemed to be shaking with rage. "Foolish? Foolish?! I will do whatever I want to do tomorrow, Harry. I don't need you to tell me what my limits are." She let out a mix between a snarl and a shriek before gathering up her books. Hermione gave one glance back at Harry before storming loudly up the back stairs, grumbling unheard words under her breath as she went.

Harry stared with some rage, but mostly in awe. "Girls, they are the strangest creatures alive, I swear. One minute they are calm, cool, collected. Next, they're a raving loony!" Noticing that something was brushing madly against his hand, he snapped his head down towards the object. The Golden Snitch was still fluttering madly in his fist. He thought about stuffing it back into James's enchanted box he kept it in, but thought better. Harry slowly creaked his fist open. The Snitch zoomed out and zipped freely around the common room.

"What'd you do that for?" James laughed from the portrait entrance. "I worked hard at stealing that little bugger." James laughed again as he strolled over to Harry and sat down where Hermione had been previously. Harry rolled his angered eyes up to James's shining face. James's smile faltered. Something was different. "What's wrong, mate?"

"I—I just had a little row with Hermione, that's all," Harry said quietly. His temper was still a little too high to fool James.

"Hmm…" James sat in silence trying to read Harry's face. Something was different with Harry all right. Something about Harry's mood pulled James's attention. Harry's words? No. Harry's stance? No. What was it?…

"Hey mates!" cried out Sirius from behind James. He had just returned from a separate detention, too. "My God, that detention felt like it would never end. I'm just so glad that I bought these, eh Prongs?" Sirius pulled out his two-way mirror from his pocket and kissed it.

Remus was stalking up from behind the two new arrivals. "You know, some would call you a narcissist if you keep that up, Padfoot." Remus clapped one hand on Sirius's shoulder with a laugh.

"What about my cousin?" Sirius asked blankly. "What does she have to do with an enchanted mirror?"

Remus just shook his head. "Your denseness ceases to amaze me."

"Are you two all right?" Sirius asked James and Harry. Both remained silent the entire time. James was staring a hole in Harry's head, while Harry was gazing deeply at the carpet. James shook his head, as if waking up from a dream, and looked at his friends.

"Huh? Oh, yeah… Where's Peter?" James asked, looking around.

"He's still in his detention… with Smirch," added Sirius with a terrified shudder. "I think she is having him reorganize the ingredients from smelliest to least smelly." Sirius barked out a laugh. James joined in weakly, along with Harry.

"Honestly, what's wrong with you two? It's the holidays! One would usually be partying right about now!"

"Right… partying…" James settled his suspicions about Harry in the back of his mind… for the time being.

* * *

Hermione was sitting alone at the Gryffindor table the next morning. Lily was fending off James, who was sticking to her like glue all morning. Two other girls in her dormitory, Dana and Freya, were primping themselves for the Hogsmeade trip, and then packing for their trip back home. Saumya, the last occupant of Hermione's room, was probably in a closet somewhere with Mundungus, or was already off at Hogsmeade. Hermione guessed that Sirius was still asleep, and Remus was, in vain, trying to wake him up. To Hermione pleasure, Peter was called home the previous night, because a relative had died (of natural causes), so Peter would be gone all break until school started again. Harry was nowhere to be seen. Not like Hermione wanted to talk to him. She was still furious at him, and even more furious with herself. 

"Hello, beautiful," cooed a voice from behind Hermione. A strong hand glided across her shoulders before landing on the table, hoisting the owner onto to the bench with a little jump. Sirius plopped down beside Hermione.

"What he means to say is, Good morning, Hermione," Remus sighed, walking a few paces behind before settling down on the other side of Hermione.

Hermione feigned a pout. "You don't think I'm beautiful, Remus?"

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Of course I do. I just find it odd to call a girl beautiful… who turns out to be half our age," he ended in a whisper.

"Love has no limits, Moony, ole' buddy," Sirius droned. "You _must_ have learned that in one of your precious books." Sirius sent over a smirk to his friend before serving himself some porridge.

"Don't insult books," Hermione said almost seriously, but with a ghost of a grin flitting across her face. "They are the foundation of life."

"Of course, milady," Sirius answered immediately between mouthfuls. "As you wish."

Hermione just smiled mockingly at Sirius before tucking in herself.

* * *

Harry was climbing down the Gryffindor Tower with his stomach growling. He skipped the last few steps as he reached the ground floor. Strolling over to the Great Hall's entry doors, he began to whistle. He didn't even know he could whistle until he heard James doing so (after he had hexed Snape to do the Irish jig). Turning in to the crowded eating area, he spotted his friends instantly at the Gryffindor Table. So far, it was Remus, Sirius, and Hermione in the usual sixth years spot. It took Harry a few seconds to realize that Hermione was holding and patting Remus's hand. Harry watched in horror when Sirius leaned in to Hermione's neck. Whether the boy was kissing her or whispering in her ear was hard to tell, but Hermione's reaction caused Harry's temper to madden. She giggled and ruffled up Sirius's hair playfully with a crazy grin on. 

Harry's appetite left him in a half second. He spun around on his heals with a squeak and headed back upstairs again. It wasn't as if Harry was jealous. Harry wasn't even sure he had feelings for Hermione when they were "dating" (if one could call it that). He just needed someone close to him… after the death. So, Harry wasn't jealous or anything like that. It was that Hermione was getting away with what he couldn't: becoming close to someone in the past. All Harry wanted to do is to be the best of friends with James and Lily. Spending time with them was the best thing that has ever happened to him. But he couldn't. And Hermione was flirting with people in the past he (and she) knew she shouldn't. In Harry's fury, he didn't notice someone sulking down the stairs, lost in his own thoughts too. Harry's head collided with James's.

"Sorry there, mate," James apologized immediately. He had been talking to Lily about their trip today to Hogsmeade together when she started yelling at him to leave her alone for the time being. So he left, feeling a bit downhearted because his trip to Hogsmeade wouldn't be nearly as fun if she was in such a bad mood.

"Naw, it's my fault. Wasn't looking," Harry mumbled.

James actually looked up at Harry's face. Realization hit him with the force of a canon. Those eyes. Harry's eyes. Lily's eyes. They were identical in every single way. James finally noticed the similarity because Harry's eyes were full of rage and anger, which James saw in Lily's eyes only too often.

"Lily," James whispered. This doesn't mean what he thought it means… could it?

Harry looked behind him in confusion, as if expecting Lily coming up behind him. "What was that?" Harry asked, turning his back at James. He noticed James staring into his eyes all weird-like, as if entranced.

"Lily… she's my wife, isn't she?"

* * *

A/N: How's that for a cliffhanger, eh? Beautiful, isn't it? (Looks at everyone's glares) Didn't think so. I'm sure you all loved the other fact that this was a shorter chapter than usual, right? (Ducks heavy objects flying my way) Thought not. (And by the way, is this a better, quicker update? tee hee hee...) 

So… Hermione is flirting with Remus and Sirius just to be a rebel against Harry's wishes. James now knows about his future relationship with Lily. Peter is out of the picture. And there is a Hogsmeade trip in just a few hours for the Gryffindor Sixth Years. Oooo, this next chapter is going to be fun!

Now, onto my reviewers!

Thanks to **Gwynn****-Potter, Shelby H, Christine, Canadian Coco Chick, Rane2920072, dawn1, Mangoes2oo5, DarkKestralSilkeQueen, lgfrommk2931, Doodler Girl, coco bean, SashaBT245, me ish me!, PinkPuff514, totally strange, Lily, Siriusluver, Jaz, Crystal, Remmy Wolf, BiggerstaffStalker, Fairyangel24, Sphinxey, Invader Neo, Violets-in-Spring, utena141, ducks-rule-world, Tanya, runaway mental patient, Niphredel Black, Laney-Wood, siriusgalforever, TheLadyValura, The1silversurfer (PadfootsMine), **and anyone I missed! You all are great!

**Kou Shun'u: **About the Polyjuice potion… You never know when Dumbledore or another teacher might need a quick transforming potion. Especially with Voldemort rising in power. And usually the potions cabinet is well-guarded, so students wouldn't have access to it. (But since when do Marauders follow the rules?)

**Pieceocake**More detentions, eh? What are you, Snape? Trying to get those innocent (cough) boys in trouble? (laughs) Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Thanks!

**Navi** (Nathalie): Not to pick favourites, but you are my favorite reviewer of all time. You are the coolest. Reading your review made me all happy inside… And in no way are you being obnoxious at all. I love your ideas and comments. I do not take offense at all. Just thought you'd like to know. (Smiles.)….. Secondly, are bloody brilliant. Your ideas just lightened my way, and now I know how to end this story. Your thought on how James finds out Harry's mother was brilliant, I must say. And the idea of Hermione having Ron in her dream… I could be using that later on. (wink) And all that inner turmoil of who Hermione would end up with (if anyone at all) keeps on rolling around in my head. All the points you pointed out keep on spinning around in my head. I guess I'll just have to see where these next few chapters take me! Thanks a lot again!!!

To answer all curious readers:

**1- Sirius is going to live!** So no more fretting!

**2- **And also, I know where I'm going now, so no worries!

**3- **Thirdly, I'm sorry to say that an author has the right to remain silent. So for all you who are asking who Hermione will end up with, I shan't say a thing until the point in this story comes to reveal it.

**4- **Last but not least, I am also sorry to say that James and Lily will not learn any more about the future than they already know. In other words, Harry will not tell them about Peter's betrayal. It pains me to not write it that way, but I must.

Thanks again to everyone!


	24. Chapter 24: A Trip to Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer:** I don't own a lot of things: Rowling's characters, Tolkien's character, Love Potion Number Nine, the Monkee's, and Remus's chocolate. However, I do own this chapter idea, so enjoy!

Just for all that forgot how the last chapter ended, it went like this. _James said "Lily… she's my wife, isn't she?"

* * *

_

**Chapter 24: A Trip to Hogsmeade**

Lily, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, Harry, and James were slowly ambling their way down to Hogsmeade. The weather was clearing up from the rainstorm from the previous day, although it still quite chilly. The sun was weakly shining cheerfully on the dewy grass as the six Gryffindors stood at the gates of Hogsmeade.

James was silent from the moment he spoke her name to Harry, and especially from the time where Harry bit his lip, then nodded his head. All sixth year Gryffindors were walking in a straight line, and James was at the end, the farthest away from Lily. With the news of his… future wife… still fresh in his mind, he was still in shock. It all seemed unreal.

"Hey, mate," Sirius spoke loudly, waving a hand in front of James's zoned-out face. "Something wrong?" He left Hermione's side and butted in between Harry and James. "I'm not sure if you noticed, little Prongsie, but there's this pretty redhead walking with us, and I'm pretty sure she's available at the moment…"

James looked up to find Sirius truly smiling. If only James could tell Sirius… "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." James hitched up his usual crazy grin. But he found that it was natural as his mind began to wander again. So, according to Harry, Lily Evans was going to voluntarily marry James in the near future. So it was inevitable that she would fancy him. "So, lovely ladies, where to?" James asked smoothly, his tone a notch deeper than usual.

Lily sighed. So much for a mature James. "I have nothing to really buy except a few books or gizmos for my parents."

"What about your sister?" James asked immediately, trying to show off his knowledge about her, but also trying to show some form of benevolence. "What are you going to give her for Christmas?"

Lily, to James's surprise, snorted heartlessly. "Like she'd accept anything I gave her. I was thinking of getting her a bag of soot. She'd like that…"

"What, you don't get along with your sister?" Remus asked.

"That is a complete understatement. Let's put it this way: I hate her so much that it makes my relationship with James as loving as a marriage."

James choked on air. Giving himself a beat on the chest to clear up his sudden choke, he whipped his head around at Harry, who was pink from holding in his laughter. His father's face was priceless.

"Wow, you must really loathe her then," commented Sirius with an airy flavor. He silenced from one of James's deathly glares.

"Back on topic then," Remus said hurriedly. "I think we should visit Honeydukes first. That's always a good place to start, isn't it?" He steered Hermione, who steered Lily, into the direction of the crowded shop.

Sirius just barked out a laugh. "That's Moony for you: his mind always on chocolate." But he followed his friend also with a light bounce in his step. Sirius received a light whack on the back of his head for that comment. Sirius just barked some more as he stepped through the Honeydukes store.

Lined along the walls were a mixture of shelves of assorted candy, barrels of sweets, and students shifting through each, searching for the best choice. There was a mediocre-sized line at the counter, which contained hungry and frenzied customers. The rich scent of chocolate and fruit and other mouth-watering flavors hung in the air, intoxicating those who had not yet bought any sweets.

Sirius smiled at Remus, whose eyes were as round as Galleons. Sirius lightly nudged his friend forward. "Have at it, mate."

Remus turned around and glared, but he could practically hear the chocoballs and sugar quills and chocolate frogs calling his name. He sprinted forward towards the shelves and then walked down each aisle, scratching his chin at which sweets to buy and eat.

The rest of the gang just grinned and laughed, but soon joined Remus in perusing through the candies.

Ten minutes later, Remus ran up to Sirius, bouncing on the balls of his feet, much like a five-year-old boy. "Look, Padfoot! Look!" Remus shoved what seemed to be a chocolate Christmas tree in his face. Sirius raised his eyebrows in confusion. "It's the holiday special! It's an all chocolate Christmas tree… and see!" Remus tapped it with his wand. Little gumdrop lights that were "stringed" around the chocolate tree started to magically glow all shades of colours. "Isn't that brilliant?" Remus was jumping up and down on the balls of his feet.

Hermione came up behind the two. "Is he always like this around sweets?" she playfully asked Sirius.

Sirius chuckled. "You should see him around Valentine's Day… He goes crazy with all the chocolate for sale. He's mad, really."

Twenty minutes later, all six left the store, and each in their bags was a considerable amount of sweets. (James had tried to buy Lily something nice and sweet, and finally she gave in. So in her bag were some sweets for her friends, and a glowing red chocolate heart from James.)

"You know, we're going to get fat off of this," Lily commented lightly as she peeked inside of her bag.

"Hey, Thewler and I play Quidditch, so we're going to burn it off later on during practice. What're all your excuses?" James smirked at the rest of his friends, who all suddenly found either the sky or the roadway to be quite interesting. "Mm hmm, that's what I thought."

"Do you know how many staircases there are in Hogwarts?" Hermione asked James promptly.

"Er—"

"One hundred and forty-two, to be exact. And do you know how much exercise that is, to walk around all day?"

"Er—a lot?"

"Exactly."

"Oooo, can we go to the Shrieking Shack?" Lily said excitingly. "I haven't seen that place for _ages_." All eyes except Lily's flew over to Remus, whose eyes shadowed only the slightest. Lily didn't notice though; she was trying to recall her last journey to the haunted house.

"Why would you want to go there?" Remus asked moodily, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"It's supposed to be a great historical place, isn't it?"

"And it's not like we won't visit, though," James said. Behind Lily's back, James silently begged Remus to approve. He linked his hands together, in perfect begging form, and even tried for the puppy-dog eyes (though nothing compared to Sirius's). Remus took one look at Lily, another at James, and nodded (though not completely satisfied).

They slowly strolled down the main road until they reached the site of the Shrieking Shack. It was an awful mess. Dead trees lined the edge of the house as if warding off all good-spirited folks. Even though there was no wind blowing, two of the window shutters slowly swung open and closed on its creaky hinges. Other than the deafening squeaks coming from the shutters, not a single sound emitted from the building.

"It's amazing that this house has been standing for so long, according to the rumors anyway," Lily commented, her eyes glued to the building.

"So you think it's haunted?" James asked her.

"Not really, no. But I do believe that someone or something lives in there, and just doesn't want to be disturbed."

"Like what?" James asked.

Remus, however, did not find this conversation as interesting as James, Harry, or Lily did. He just walked away from the Shrieking Shack and went over by a bare, deadened tree. Leaning on the trunk of the tree, he gazed sorrowful at the old house, his brown eyes big and round. Sighing, he pulled out a large slab of chocolate and started to gnaw away at it.

"Are you all right?" Hermione asked, joining Remus under the tree.

Remus looked suddenly at Hermione, but realized he didn't have to hide his feelings about … his other identity… around her. It was nice to have someone else to talk to. "I just hate this place. Hate looking at it. Hate the smell. Hate the feel… Hate the memories." He nibbled another piece of chocolate and violently began to chew.

Hermione could not think of what to say. She couldn't say anything comforting about the future, because even though there was the Wolfsbane potion, Remus would still be shunned by the wizarding world. So instead, she laid a comforting arm around his shoulders, letting her head fall onto his nearest shoulder. She felt him stiffened for a second, before relaxing under her feather-light, yet warming pressure. His head fell on top of hers, though he wasn't completely rid of his deep anxiety.

Sirius looked away from Harry, who was asking Lily about the Shrieking Shack, to see where Hermione had gotten to. He spotted her over by a tree a short distance away… with Remus. Sirius was about to head over there, to break up that horribly cute scene, when someone grabbed his arm and held him back. It was James.

"Let him have this one," he said quietly, as to not distract Harry. James was sure Harry wouldn't approve of Hermione's current situation. But James felt that Remus deserved at least one hug from Hermione, especially with the memories of his transformations fresh in his mind, thanks to the sight of the Shrieking Shack.

Sirius's eyes almost turned into the perfected puppy-dog eyes, but he thought better. He'd let Remus have Hermione… this time.

Back at the tree, Remus whispered to Hermione, "Thanks. I needed this."

Hermione smiled. "There's one small price, though." She leaned in and bit off a tiny piece of his chocolate. "Thanks," she mumbled through her chewing.

"Just don't think that you'll get away with that again, missy," Remus said with a chuckle.

"Really?" Hermione asked, lifting up her head off of his shoulder. Big mistake. Now she was only two inches away from Remus's face. She looked into his brown and amber eyes and saw desire. A desire for something he knew he couldn't have. She watched him turn his face away and take a step back.

Remus, already feeling depressed at the sight of his werewolf home (and the fact that he was so close to his dream girl, whom he couldn't really connect with), didn't want any awkwardness between him and Hermione at the moment. It would just be too much. So instead, he waved his chocolate bar in front of Hermione's face, which cracked into a smile. "All the rest of this is mine now, all right?" A grin spread upon his face, too, as he spoke lightheartedly to her.

Hermione's innocent smile transformed into a sly sort of grin.

Harry and James were having a discussion about the origin of the Shrieking Shack, with Sirius and Lily adding in comments here or there. Right before Harry was about to suggest that the house was originally the home of a pack of Nifflers, all four heard a shriek from a short ways away. Their heads automatically snapped over to the direction of where Remus and Hermione were. They were all astounded at the sight before them.

One could only guess how, but Hermione, for some reason, was lying on her back on the wet grass. Remus was kneeling beside her, his face pink from the slight chill in the air, but also from laughing. He had been dangling a piece of chocolate over Hermione's face when she reached out and snagged it away from him. To force Hermione to give it back, Remus started to tickle her, hence the shriek that James, Harry, Sirius, and Lily heard.

"Remus Lupin! You stop it this instant!" Hermione cried out, along with a shrill giggle.

Remus obliged with a victorious grin. In his hand was his chocolate. With his other hand, he helped Hermione off of the ground.

Hermione huffed. She turned her head to look at the damage done to the back of her clothes. Her brick-red, flimsy sweater was stained with brown mud and a bit of green grass stains. Fortunately, she was wearing brown pants, so it didn't show as much on the seat of her pants. She smacked Remus on the arm. "Great. Now I'm all wet and muddy."

Remus spun her around to take a look at the damage, eyes quickly surveying the damage (and nothing else, being the gentleman he was). Spinning her around again so he could see her scrunched-up face, he smiled, a short laugh bursting out from his upturned mouth. "Here," Remus said. He took off his tatty old jacket and draped it around Hermione. "That'll do, won't it?"

Hermione seemed hesitant, but the entire back of her thin sweater was soaking wet, and a cool wind was picking up. She hugged his warm jacket tighter around her form. "Thanks."

Remus's eyes sparkled. "You're welcome."

Sirius and Harry watched wide-eyed, mouth agape at Hermione and Remus. Harry knew that she was doing this just to spite him. Maybe he, Harry, shouldn't have ordered her what to do the night before. He should have known better, since he knew all too well that Hermione was a stubborn one.

Sirius, on the other hand, looked over and stared angrily at James. Sirius found it easier to blame this on James. It was he who had stopped Sirius from intervening, and now Sirius saw their act to be quite unacceptable.

James cringed away from Sirius's glare. He decided to fix this the best way he could: with sarcasm. "Oy! You two lovebirds over there! Ready to leave?" James called out. Lily nudged him painfully in the ribs. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Can't you see they were fine by themselves?" she hissed. "And now you had to ruin the moment… talk about dense, emotionally-challenged boys…" She turned and walked off, leading everyone else back up the main street.

Sirius glared after her before turning back to Hermione and Remus. But something was different about her that he didn't notice before… She was wearing Remus's jacket! Why that little…!

"Shall we carry on, then?" Hermione asked. Her face was bright pink.

"Er—yeah, sure," Sirius mumbled. He stepped beside Hermione, who was looking at the person on her other side: Remus.

Lily lead them into a book store only a little ways away. There she bought for her parents a special book that was filled with wise adages and quirky quotes, and would magically change quotes every time it was opened. James, Sirius, and Harry were battling with magic quills made for correcting errors in a script, text, or essay. Remus ended it with cleaning off ("Scourgify!") the circles and all sorts of correction marks that had been scribbled across their faces. The storeowner shooed them out of the store before the Marauders could do any more damage.

"Don't you need to buy something for your parents, Hermione?" Lily asked as they walked out the store.

"Er—" Hermione stuttered. "I've already got them. I ordered them over owling."

"Well that's clever," Lily agreed.

"Yeah…"

James and Harry rushed past the two girls. "Last to Dervish and Bangs has to buy me lunch!" James called over his shoulder. Their cackles died out as they burst into the store. Sirius and Remus tore after them.

"Oh no you don't!" Lily cried out. "Come on!" She grabbed Hermione's arm and ran towards Dervish and Bangs.

Lily lost.

"That's all right, love," James said, laying a head on her shoulder inside the shop. "I'll buy _you_ lunch instead."

"Erg, get off me, James," Lily teased. She twitched her shoulder so that James's head bounced off. "Make yourself useful. Help me find something for my parents, will you?"

James, eager to please his beloved Lily, sprang from her side in search of a gift. Lily watched him push aside an old witch to get a clearer view of a shelf. Lily watched in glee when the witch started to beat James over the head with a walking stick.

Hermione was standing a ways away by the glass fountains. She was admiring a particular fountain that shot out sparklers that resembled shining stars and glowing moons.

Sirius silently crept up behind her. Looking over her shoulder, he spotted the fountain. "Blimey, that's almost as beautiful as you are," he whispered into her ear.

Hermione jumped around, fairly startled at his sudden appearance. She sighed when she saw his face, but hit him on the arm anyway. "Don't sneak up on people like that," she scolded. But her scowl was replaced by a smile. "It is gorgeous, though, isn't it?" she asked, turning back to the fountain.

Sirius smiled too. He noticed all of the stars shooting out of the funnel. "Did you know that my name is the name of the brightest star in the sky?"

"Second brightest," corrected Hermione. "The brightest is the Sun."

Sirius's smile just broadened. "I stand corrected."

"It uses a simple enough spell to make this," Hermione said. "I'm sure it's just a mix between a showering charm and a lunar recreator. But this is perfected, really." Hermione turned around to find Sirius standing right behind her. She stepped back. Uncomfortable with being that close to that devilishly cute smirk, she searched around in her head for an excuse to leave his side. "I wonder if James has found Lily's parents' present yet." And she left. Sirius sighed, his smile faltering.

James ended up picking out a beautiful crystal figurine that magically reflected a lustrous lily. He handed it to Lily, saying that it reminded him of her beauty. Lily smiled, about to say thank you, but caught herself. She paid for it, and then she followed Harry and Hermione out of the shop.

"Okay, now it's Marauder's choice," Sirius said. The other five stopped, looking at him. "I happened to know that my Marauder's stock has run out, so a quick trip to Zonko's is in need." Everyone muttered in agreement. Zonko's was just a few buildings down anyway.

"Jamesie! Siri! And, my my, little Remy! My favourite customers!" cried out a rather plump witch from inside the joke shop. The owner was, at the moment, fixing up the transfiguring rubber chickens section. She left her station immediately and waddled over to the three Marauders, enveloping them in a giant bear-hug. "Ah, but where's little Petey?" she asking, counting the three Marauders.

"At his mum's, Madam Gelbwaks," James said politely with a colossal grin across his face.

"How many times, little Jamesie, must I ask you to call me Pandora?" Madam Pandora Gelbwaks asked. She pinched his cheeks, and then called to someone in the back, "Hector? We have some very special visitors!"

From behind the counter came a loud thud, a pronounced "ouch!", and finally a full grown man, scraping the age of thirty. He had the most bazaar, reddened face: like a little kid's but with a mustache and bug-eyed eyeglasses. Wrapped around his neck like a scarf was a string of fake spiders and flies (though they looked quite real). Just like his wife, he jumped for joy when he saw the Marauders. "Ah, Marauders! Great to have you!" Hector Gelbwaks roared.

"Great to be here, Hector," Sirius said heartily. "So, what have you got for us today?"

Hector's grin widened. "Great stuff, mates, great stuff." He wrapped an arm around James's and Sirius's shoulders, leading them to the back of the store. "It's this great little gizmo that bursts into magical flames whenever someone says a certain word… and here's another one that causes the user to…" And they were soon out of sight of the rest of the Gryffindors.

Pandora turned to the remaining students. "If there's anything I can help you with, just give me a ring," she said kindly. She winked at Remus before shuffling off to fix the rest of the rubber chickens.

Lily, Hermione, and Harry stood rooted to the spot from the moment Pandora screeched out the three Marauder's names. They, synchronically, looked at Remus for an explanation.

Remus laughed at their looks. "We've been shopping regularly at this shop ever since third year. The shop owners love us because we usually buy them out of business it seems. They even have a certain rack just for us. Pandora and Hector actually gave us the name, 'Marauders', if you cared to know."

Lily, Hermione, and Harry nodded numbly.

"We usually get discounts, too," added Remus thoughtfully. He shrugged and made his way to find some Dungbombs and Mr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks and some Fanged Frisbees.

James and Sirius had returned from their trip to the back area forty-two minutes later, each carrying a bag stuffed full of all different types of joke and trick items. Remus and Harry had bought a small bag worth of Zonko products. Lily and Hermione refrained from buying anything without any sort of strain.

"Don't you boys be strangers now, you hear?" Hector called out to them as they were all leaving.

James and Sirius turned around and waved good-bye. "Don't worry. We won't!"

Outside, it had started to lightly sprinkle.

"I vote for some lunch," Sirius said at once.

"I agree," chimed in Hermione. "Three Broomsticks?"

"Why don't we go to Madam Puddifoot's?" James asked, his eyes shining as he stared at Lily. The two girls, however, rolled their eyes. "What? I've heard it's a good place. Nice… warm… cozy… nice place to cuddle up…"

"No," Lily said abruptly. "We are going to the Three Broomsticks."

"But I wanna go to Madam Puddifoot's," James said, equally stubbornly.

"Me, too," Sirius agreed, his eyes never wavering from Hermione.

"Does anyone find this amusing?" Remus asked to no one in particular. "I mean, the guys want to go to the cutesy shop, while the girls want to go to a pub. I'm just finding this hilarious." Harry nodded in agreement.

"Please?" James and Sirius begged. James went on his knees and linked his hands together, begging like a true beggar. Sirius, on the other hand, went for the big puppy-dog eyes (he even dared to emit a soft dog whine with a pouting lip). And they both begged and pleaded until—

"I can't believe we are actually eating at Madam Puddifoot's," groaned Lily as she stepped into the warm, steamy shop. They waited for the waitress, a stout witch with black hair tied into a bun. Madam Puddifoot came up and counted heads.

"So is this three different tables?" she asked.

All six looked at each other. Remus was standing next to Hermione. James was very close to Lily. That only left Harry and Sirius standing next to each other. Once they realized this, they jumped five feet apart with a disgusted "AH!" and a loud "Hell no!"

James just chuckled. He turned to Madam Puddifoot. "No thank you. If you have a six-person table, that would be great."

Madam Puddifoot nodded. She waved her wand over her shoulder, and three empty tables joined together with a snap to form one large, rectangular one. She lead all six over there (Harry and Sirius still keeping their distance) and handed them each a menu as they sat down.

"I'll be back when you're ready," Madam Puddifoot said before fleeing to another table.

James pulled out a chair for Lily to sit in, which she reluctantly sat in. Hermione sat between Harry and Remus, across from Sirius (who sat next to James). (A/N: if that confuses you, think of it as Lily and Harry sitting at heads of the table, and Sirius and James sitting on one side, and Hermione and Remus sitting across from them.)

"Isn't this place adorable?" James squealed.

"And look! It's decorated for Christmas," Sirius joined in, pointing at the red bows and green garlands.

"You two are weird," Remus said flatly.

"Aw, you're just so sweet, Moony," James giggled.

"Seriously, stop it," Harry said with a laugh. "You two are scaring me."

They all joined in laughing.

Madam Puddifoot returned "What can I get you dears?" she asked, pulling out a pad of paper.

Once they all placed their orders, they continued to chat. Hermione stayed a little quiet, taking in the surroundings. She had heard of this place when Harry had been explaining his date with Cho Chang, but she didn't picture it this… frilly. He also failed to mention that it was strictly a couple's place. One table held a boy (who Hermione recognized as Kyle McFly) heartily snogging a Hufflepuff seventh year over their forgotten cups of coffee. Another couple, who Hermione recognized as Lily's friend, Katie Rawson, and Zach Wood, were holding hands, with Zach whispering words of sweet endearment in Katie's ear. Hermione squirmed in her seat at the sight of all the couples.

Remus noticed her discomfort. "I don't like this place much, either," he said softly.

"Oy," Sirius said, entering the conversation, "it's not that bad."

"And how many times have you been in here, _Sirius_, with your dates?" Lily asked.

Sirius's grin became more pronounced and his eyebrows more raised. "Why so interested, Evans?"

In return, Lily scoffed. "Like I'm interested in anything you do, Black."

"Well, just so you don't get the idea that I visit here often, I have actually only been in here twice before, thank you very much." Lily rolled her eyes.

James looked back and forth between Lily and Sirius before clearing his throat. "So," (his voice cracked; he coughed it away), "did anyone catch the sight of that tea cup flying down the street on the way over here?"

The conversations remained lighter from then until the food appeared and started to disappear. Sirius had spotted a bit of newspaper lying on the floor with a title _Voldemort Strikes Again_. Then, to Harry's dismay, the discussion turned heavier as they talked about the Dark Arts that were rising.

"I just hope that Dumbledore conquers this Voldemort before anything too serious happens," Lily commented. "They say that Dumbledore is the only wizard that Voldemort ever feared, you know."

"Can you believe that people are seriously calling him 'You-Know-Who'?" Sirius said. "I mean, he is getting bloody powerful and everything, but still… that'll give him a big head, won't it?"

"And we definitely don't want people with big heads, do we?" Lily said sharply, but with a smile nonetheless.

"Even so, he is growing more powerful by the day," Remus said. "There's even a rumor that he has joined forces with the giants. And his Death Eaters are growing uncontrollable."

"Yeah, and I'll bet you half of them are my cousins," spat Sirius.

"As long as you don't turn Dark, Sirius," James said, thumping his friend on the back.

"Yeah, the day you see me joining Voldemort is the day a mermaid will walk on her feet… I'll bet you anything Snivellus joins the Dark side," Sirius growled.

"He sure likes hexing enough to," James agreed.

"You two hex him in equal amounts, though," Lily said.

"But we do it in self-defense," James said automatically.

"What about that time last year by the lake?" Lily pointed out. "That was certainly not in self-defense. You two started it!"

"I meant this year, it's all been in self-defense," James said with a sort of plead in his voice.

Lily looked at him skeptically, but said no more on the subject.

All six exited Madam Puddifoot's a good while later. They had finished their lunches after the first twenty minutes, but spent a lot of time talking (and flirting in Sirius and James's cases). The sextet often received odd glances from Madam Puddifoot and some one the customers, too, since it seemed as if not one of the six-person group was dating. James, sticking to his word, paid for Lily's lunch. Inconspicuously, Sirius snagged a pink, heart-shaped potion with the roman numerals IX that had been sitting on the counter of Madam Puddifoot's and stuffed it hastily in his pocket. He wasn't a Marauder for nothing!

Instead of going to a direct shop, Hermione suggested they just start ambling down the roads. Sure, it was a little windy, but the sprinkling rain had died out. And off they set down the High Street.

"So, tell me, Hermione, what is your favourite animal?" Sirius asked seriously.

Hermione looked away from one of the windows she was gazing in.

"Dogs, perhaps?" Sirius asked with a smile.

"Dogs are nice," Hermione agreed, grinning. "Although, I have this pet cat. So I guess I like cats too." Sirius made a disgruntled face. "Actually, Sirius, you'd like my cat. Yes… indeed."

Harry overheard their conversation and walked over towards them. "I agree. You would really like him. Her cat helps out people when they need it the most."

Sirius just stared at them strangely. "A… cat? I grow up to like cats?" Sirius said in a whisper. "That's just odd."

Harry and Hermione laughed.

James was asking Lily a similar question. "Hey, Lily… what's your favourite forest animal?"

"Other than little chipmunks?" Lily asked, smiling.

"Oh, those don't count," James said.

"Then I would have to say… a stag, I guess."

James stopped abruptly. "Why?"

"Well, they're just amazing creatures. They usually symbolize boldness, strength, and bravery, don't they? And they're such beautiful animals." Lily's eyes sparkled for a moment. "I've actually seen one in the distance here at Hogwarts."

James held back a chuckle. "Really?"

"Yeah… it was on a full moon night, and it was running along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was just so powerful and stunning…" Lily shook her head to clear the memory and looked at James. "Why do you ask?"

James shrugged. "No reason."

"What about you?" Lily asked.

"Er—would you believe me if I said stag too?" James asked.

Lily gazed at him for a instant. "No, not really."

"Oy! Padfoot!" Sirius looked up from his discussion with Hermione. "What's my favourite animal?"

Sirius smiled. "A stag, of course! But dogs come in second." Sirius smirked before returning to his conversation with Hermione.

James turned back to Lily, eyebrows raised and grin spread wide across his face. "Told you so."

Lily scoffed and busied herself with admiring a crystal ball in the window of a shop.

While strolling down the Hogsmeade road, they met quite a few people, including some of the Gryffindor Quidditch players, Professor Aylward arguing with Professor Smirch, and Rubeus Hagrid carrying something that looked quite illegal underneath his cloak.

They were going to continue down another street when it started to rain.

"Potter!" Lily screeched as it started to pour on her, along with everyone else. "I blame you! You suggested walking around. And now I'm soaked."

James didn't even bother pointing out that it was Hermione that proposed a walk down the streets. "Why don't we go into the Three Broomsticks for a warm butterbeer?" he said loudly over the torrential rain.

"Good idea," Harry shouted.

They all ran towards the Three Broomsticks, which, luckily, wasn't too far away. James crashed through the pub's doors to find the Three Broomsticks almost packed. Lily ran right into him, almost knocking him over. At the last second, she gripped him around the waist to steady James and herself. James turned his neck around to find her blushing.

James, wiping his glasses dry, led the way to a table. He spotted one towards the back. He careened through the crowded pub, passing by several familiar faces: Kyle McFly, Severus Snape (sitting with Regulus Black with Callie Snyde attached to his hip, and John Wilkes), and Professor Flitwick. Sirius was last in the line of his friends. He accidentally tripped over Snape's foot (which was sticking out too far), knocking over Snape's butterbeer. Thanks to a spell Madam Rosmerta had concocted, the contents did not spill. Sirius set the tankard back on the table before hurrying off after Hermione.

Sirius giggled as he sat down at the sextet's table.

"What?" Hermione asked.

Sirius just laughed some more. "Oh, nothing." He slipped the pink, empty bottle of potion IX into his jacket pocket. He noticed Lily unenthusiastically wearing James's coat, and smiled even more.

Madam Rosmerta jostled up to them. "Hello boys!" she said, eyeing the Marauders and Harry (since she met him once before). "It's nice to see a friendly face around here."

"It's nice to be a friendly face around here," Sirius said.

Madam Rosmerta just laughed. "I missed you four. You haven't visited me in such a long time, you know."

James sighed. "Sorry. Busy with school work… tests… Quidditch… girls…"

Madam Rosmerta's attention shifted to Lily and Hermione. "Well! You boys finally brought some new faces. You girls are lucky. These boys usually don't bring along others. I think you two are the first girls they've brought since fourth year. You seem familiar, though," she said, looking at Lily.

"Oh, I'm Lily Evans," Lily said, holding out her hand, scrunching up the enlarged sleeve of James's jacket.

"_The_ Lily Evans?" Madam Rosmerta asked, shaking the redhead's hand.

"You've heard of me?" Lily asked, confused. Then she understood. James. She whipped her head around to glare at James, who was sitting next to her, pulling off a brilliantly innocent face.

"Knowing these boys, naturally," Madam Rosmerta laughed. Her ears perked up as she heard someone call out her name. "I'm sorry, loves, but it's a real busy time. I can't stay to chat. What'll it be?"

"Ah, I think six butterbeers will do it, won't it?" James asked, looking around at the rest of his friends. They all nodded. "Thanks, Madam Rosmerta."

"No problem, love," she said. She winked at James and Sirius before hurrying away to satisfy another customer.

"I'm beginning to think that you know almost every shopkeeper personally," Lily commented lightly, gazing intently at James, Sirius, and Remus.

"We're just so lovable," Sirius said. James added by ruffling his hair. Lily groaned. "But honestly, some don't approve of _the Marauders_."

"Like that witch at that old antique shop," James grinned mischievously. "Peter and I _accidentally _broke twelve objects in the store in one go, and then we were never allowed in there again. We once forgot we weren't supposed to go in there, and that mad old witch chased us out, hitting us repeatedly with an old broom."

Everyone, including Lily, burst into gales of laughter.

Madam Rosmerta came by minutes later to drop off the drinks, but was immediately called for service again. She wished the boys a Happy Christmas before bustling off to the next customer.

"So, Lily, are you having a good day so far?" James asked, inching closer to Lily with a mischievous grin plastered on his shining face.

Lily looked thoughtful. "I guess it hasn't been that bad. I mean, I've gotten most of my Christmas shopping done, I got a free lunch, and lots of chocolate… so yes, I'd have to say it's been productive."

James's bright face faltered. "What about the company? You didn't enjoy the company?"

"Eh, it was all right. Not the best. Not the worst." She dared a glance over at James's face, which looked completely devastated. "I'm kidding, James. Gosh, you fall for the easy ones." She turned to Remus. "Is he always this gullible?"

"Only around certain people," Remus said with a wink.

A while later, the rain outside ended. They paid for their drinks, thanked Madam Rosmerta, and stepped outside. One look around the streets brought all six Gryffindors to peels of laughter.

Severus Snape was running around like a madman… kissing everything in sight. First he kissed his hand. Then he kissed a doorknob. Then he kissed a basket sitting outside of a shop. Then an owl in the Owl Post Office. Then some random Ravenclaw third year. Then a Hufflepuff fifth year. Then Professor Smirch.

"SEVERUS SNAPE! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" roared Professor Smirch. She wretched Snape off of her and held him by the shoulders. She took one look into his glazed eyes and knew he was under a spell or potion of some sort. "_Finite Incantatem!_"

The first words out of the non-influenced Snape were, "POTTER! BLAAAACK!"

By that time, James and Sirius were already sprinting down the pathway of Hogsmeade, James silently dragging Lily along. Remus and Harry started after them. Hermione didn't notice until it was too late. Professor Smirch and Snape hounded down on the lonely Gryffindor.

"Miss Snicket, did you see where Potter and Black went?" Professor Smirch snapped, towering over Hermione, her nostrils flaring. The young professor seemed almost as upset as Snape.

Hermione didn't really have the heart to tell on Sirius and James, so she pulled on her most innocent face. "I haven't seen them since they ditched me at the Three Broomsticks," she responded sincerely.

"That's not true," Snape cut in. "Please, Professor, I just saw her with them at the Three Broomsticks talking. She," he said, pointing at Hermione, "is covering up for her little boyfriend, Black."

Smirch's nostrils turned white from flaring so much. "We shall see about this. All right, on your way Miss Snicket."

Hermione scampered away instantly. "I wonder where they got off to," Hermione thought loudly to herself. Right then, though, as she turned the corner, someone ran into her and pulled her aside into an adjacent alley. Looking at her intruder, she spotted those deep grey orbs. "What did I tell you about sneaking up on people, Black?"

Sirius just smiled. "Thanks for saving my arse back there."

"You're welcome," Hermione said. She eyed the small distance between her and Sirius, and then took a step back.

Sirius sighed. "Hermione, let me ask you a question. How come you will be close around Remus, yet when we are two feet apart, you feel the need to be farther away?" He folded his arms across his chest, waiting for an answer.

Hermione fixed her eyes on him for a moment, skeptically thinking. "Remus doesn't try to get closer to me. He shies away, too. You know why?" Sirius shook his head. "Because he knows none of this," she waved her hand between herself and Sirius, "is possible. He understands that nothing can happen between us."

"But why not?"

"It's against time-traveling rules."

"There's another reason, I know it."

"It's just not possible."

"Come on, give me the reason your heart is screaming, not your brain."

She paused for a long moment. "I don't want you to get hurt," Hermione said, speaking to the pavement. "I don't want to hurt anybody."

"But, love, you're hurting me already," Sirius said, taking a step closer to Hermione. Gently, he touched a finger to her chin and lifted her head up. "You see, there's this girl I fancy. But, unfortunately, she keeps on turning me down, even though I might even love her. So this leaves me broken-hearted, you see…"

Hermione stared right back into his saddened eyes. "Oh, Sirius." She leaned forward… and wrapped her arms around him, cloaking him in a hug. He stood surprised, but hugged her in return. "I'm sorry," she said into his chest. "But this is all I have to give right now." With one last squeeze, she let go of him.

"Will there be more in the future?" Sirius asked quietly.

"Maybe," Hermione answered, her eyes full of sorrow.

"Near future?"

"We'll see."

"There you two are!" James called out. He was standing at the head of the alley. He shouted over his shoulder, "I found them!"

Hermione smiled weakly at Sirius before heading for James.

Regrettably, their reunion was ended with a howling Professor Smirch.

Sirius and James bolted, Hermione running after them. They twisted and turned at ever chance they got. Finally, when they thought to have lost the Potions teacher, they reached an old pub with an old, creaking sign with a hog's head above the door. Sirius and James headed inside without a glance at it.

"Oh no," Hermione said, observing the sign. With a dreaded feeling in her stomach, she stepped inside.

Remus, Harry, and Lily were already there, sitting at the bar of The Hog's Head. Remus was waving good-bye to a ginger-haired boy.

"Bye Mundungus!" he called out to the boy brushing past Hermione to exit the pub. "Oh! You found them!" Remus said to James, spotting Hermione. The three new arrivers walked over towards the rest of their group. "I suggested that we lay low for awhile, 'cuz of those two bloody blighters." Remus jerked his thumb over at Sirius and James, who had just taken a seat at the bar. He turned to his fellow Marauders. "What did you two do, anyway?"

Sirius broke out into a full grin. "Well, I acquired a certain bottled potion earlier on today. It was kept in this hideous pink bottle with white hearts drawn all over it. And engraved on the container were the roman numerals IX."

Hermione and Lily snorted. They recognized this potion from a Muggle song.

Sirius smiled and then continued. "So when Snape purposefully tripped me on my way to our table at the Three Broomsticks, I picked up his drink that I had knocked over. And I guess this potion just accidentally got slipped in."

"And what exactly does this potion do?" Harry asked.

"Good question, Harry. The potion makes the drinker fall in love with everything in sight. They can't tell if it is day or night. They just start kissing everything in sight. But when he kissed that Smirch down on 34th and Vine, she broke his little bottle of love potion number nine."

"What is he talking about?" Harry asked Hermione quietly as Sirius went into musical instrument piece.

"There's an old Muggle song about this potion called Love Potion Number Nine," she whispered back to him. "And I guess this potion was a model of it."

"Oh…" Harry nodded. He pulled out a box of sugar quills from his Honeydukes bag and started to suck on the tip. Hermione looked at the others and noticed they had taken out their Honeydukes candy. After giving a shrug, she, too, took out some candy, only to find most of it gone.

"Did one of you take any of my candy?" she asked to her friends. She revealed her almost-empty bag.

Everyone shook their head.

"It was just full at the Three Broomsticks, wasn't it?" asked Sirius.

Hermione thought I moment. "I thought it was."

"Mundungus!" Sirius blurted out all of a sudden. "I bet he snagged some. He's been known to do that."

Hermione glowered. She _knew_ Mrs. Weasley was right. Mundungus was a scoundrel, but Hermione never guessed at such a young age. "I guess we'll have to stop by Honeydukes on the way back."

"I'm sure that's fine with Moony," Sirius said, thumping his lycanthrope friend. Remus looked up innocently from his chocolate frog.

"Oy, James," he said, ignoring Sirius for the moment. Remus threw the Chocolate Frog Card towards James, without looking at him. James caught it skillfully in the air without a flinch.

"Do they do that often?" Lily whispered to Harry.

Harry nodded. "All the time."

After finding refuge at the Hog's Head for twenty minutes, they thought it was safe to leave without Smirch handing out detentions. Though, the Hog's Head's patrons were growing more interesting by the minute. At one point in time, the door banged open and in ran a pale visitor with his skin smoking underneath his black trench coat. Sirius was convinced it was a vampire, hence the burning skin (from the sun) and his pointy teeth. What was amusing, though, was when he, the vampire, started to stare hungrily at Hermione's neck, Sirius started to growl threateningly at the newcomer. Some other customers of the Hog's Head that the sextet found entertaining was quite a large and random bunch: a very tall old wizard with a grey pointed hat, thirteen dwarves, and a very short young man, almost half of the height of the wizard. The dwarves were singing about chipping some glasses and cracking some plates.

It was growing dark outside as they walked out of the pub. Lily and Hermione hugged James's and Remus's jackets tight around them as the breeze kicked up a bit. They all collectively started to head towards Honeydukes without saying a word. All walked in silence as they watched all the students and townspeople rush around to finish their shopping before stores closed. Sirius delicately elbowed Hermione in her side and pointed off to a side alley. There were two dogs, one's coat was a smooth black, the other puffy brown, hosting a playful battle, growling and tumbling around in the roadway. Sirius smiled at them. Hermione smiled too.

"And here is Moony's favourite store," James announced. He held out his hands to preview Honeydukes shop.

"Okay, I get it," Remus let out exasperatedly. "I'm a chocoholic! We don't need to rub it in, now, do we?" He shot daggers at Sirius, who was walking beside him.

"Of course we do, Moony!" Sirius said loudly, letting loose a bark-type laugh. "Where's the fun if we don't?"

Remus glared, sticking his nose up in the air, and quickly walked ahead of them.

"Whoa-ho! Look at the snobbish Moony, all high and mighty!" Sirius called out after him.

The lycanthrope just stuck his tongue out at Sirius before entering the sweet shop.

James and Harry, who had been talking in whispers to each other, stopped abruptly. "Oy! We're going to go… somewhere," James said mysteriously. "Need to buy a few more things. We'll meet you outside Honeydukes, all right?" Snickering, James and Harry scampered off down the road again.

Sirius, Hermione, and Lily just shrugged and followed Remus inside the store.

"I thought I'd see you again, Remus," the Honeydukes worker said with a sweet smile. She was a young blonde, not much older than Remus himself. Remus raised his eyebrows in question. "You didn't buy as nearly much chocolate as you usually do when you came in earlier today."

Sirius, who was standing behind his friend, let out a whoop of barking laughter. Remus flushed, paid the young woman some silver sickles, and waited at the front of the shop for Hermione. Once she came back with her replenished stock of sweets, they all left the shop. As promised, James and Harry were huddled around a bulky bag that had not been theirs before their mysterious trip. Even worse, they were tittering manically.

"What do you boys have there?" Lily asked, the shadow of worry tickling her voice. She tried to take a peek in their bag, but James snapped it shut.

"Nothing, m'dear," he purred. James shoved the bag into Harry's hands, who slipped it behind his back, concealing it from everyone's view. At Lily's look of disbelief, James continued, "You'll find out soon."

"You're so incorrigible, you know that, Potter?" said Lily.

James's grin widened at his inner thoughts. "But you _know_ you can't resist me."

For some reason unknown to the other four, Harry nudged James painfully in the ribs. "Calm down there, Potter," Harry whispered into James's ear so no one but the selective party could hear. "You're not supposed to know."

James just smirked.

"Whatever you say, boys," Lily sighed. "…As crazy as this sounds, I'm tired of shopping. How about we go back to school?" They all communally agreed.

Once they reached the gates, they were in a straight line, all standing next to each other. This line-up was different, however, from their beginning form. This time it was Harry on the end, with James next to him, then Lily, Remus, Hermione, and finally Sirius. At one point, each had an arm draped over their neighbors' shoulders or around their waists. Sirius tried to convince them to walk "the Monkee's walk", but Lily and Remus refused.

No more trouble came to the sextet (which was surprising seeing as two of them had a problematic run-in with Professor Smrich) on their way back to Hogwarts. Surprisingly, Lily and Hermione did not scamper off at the first sight of the Hogwart's towers, but they remained by the Marauders and Harry's sides. All too soon in the boys' eyes, they had reached the Fat Lady. ("Password?")

"Screaming yo-yos," Lily breathed through her laugh, giving the portrait the password. Harry, Remus, Sirius, and James were acting out their version of the historic battles mentioned in Professor Binns's class. Harry was Victor the Valiant, who sliced and diced Totalitarian Trevor (Sirius) with his sword Ack the Ticklish (James). And Remus was the humble narrator.

The Fat Lady's eyes were bulging at the sight of the sextet, or more importantly, who was in the sextet. It was famous throughout the castle at how much Lily Evans loathed James Potter, and now the young girl was giggling like mad over James's performance. The Fat Lady let them all in without another word.

All six meandered over to the back stairs that leaded to the dormitories. James held Lily's arm back while Sirius took Hermione's arm. Both boys started acting all shy and… girly. There was no other way to describe it, really.

"I had a really great time today," James said to Lily, biting his nail and looking bashfully at the ground.

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun," Sirius said to Hermione, acting in the same manner. "I hope we can do this again some time." Sirius let out a soft, feminine giggle.

"Well…" James and Sirius said at the same time. And both, simultaneously, leaned in and gave their girl a peck on the cheek. They let out a bashful giggle and raced up the stairs without giving Lily or Hermione any reaction time. Midway up the stairs, James and Sirius both looked down at Lily and Hermione, twittered shrilly, and continued their dash up the stairs. Moments later a door slam could be heard from down the stairs.

Remus chuckled, still standing at the bottom of the stairs, along with Harry and two stunned girls. "Well, that's James and Sirius for you." He turned to Lily and Hermione. "We'll see you at dinner, then?"

Lily and Hermione nodded dumbly, bewildered at what had just happened. Harry laughed, clapping them on the back, before joining Remus in trekking up the stairs.

After a few shocked moments, the girls started to come back to life. Lily turned to Hermione before walking up to the dormitory and said, "Boys are weird." Hermione nodded solemnly as she followed Lily up the stairs.

* * *

A/N: Longest chapter ever, folks! Let's let out a whoop of happiness, shall we? And how about that quick update? To tell you the truth, I wrote this chapter in three days (in one day, I wrote 20 pages worth!) Also, don't ya just love random crazy moments (aka, the ending to this chapter)? I actually burst out laughing when I thought of it! But alas, with all good news comes bad news. I'm afraid that unless my teachers are the kindest creatures, I will be busy studying for final exams for the next two weeks. Maybe if there's enough hopeful thinking from my awesome reviewers, I can post earlier… J

Here's last chapter Thank-You's!

Thanks so much!!!: **dawn1, dracos-sexy-bitches, Larna Mandrea, annonymous (jcgirl4ever), Rane2920072, Mangoes2oo5, BiggerstaffStalker, Tania25, sapphire66, silver gaze, magiclover53, vache, Niphredel Black, cookiedoughicecream, runaway mental patient, Doodler Girl, acdecnerd, Draco's Slytherin Vampiress, Laney Wood, Violets-in-Spring, LoVinSoMe1SpeCial, blondekat3, Abriana Amati, PadfootsMine, IchooseTheScorpion, MidnightStormsArise, Escritor, Goldfish682, Patricia Luksich, You don't know me. Really **(nice email ::wink::)**, Mystified Providence, Mini-Moonstar, Senko, hye em yes, mint, TheLadyValura, jessa1234, Panting Slightly, **and **SeverusSnape'sLove** You all rock!

**Misao****, Demon Master:** I'm so sorry that I keep forgetting you!! And that excerpt you put in your last review was funny, even though I don't know the full content of it!! Thanks!

**DarkKestralSilkeQueen** Wanted Sirius dead?! Drama is good, I agree, but I can't stand Sirius dead in the books. How could I leave him dead? But you're right. If I wanted to right drama… but to write drama, I have to be in a dramatic mood, which I'm not in right now because I've have a chocolate frog (really!) Thanks!

**Pieceocake**Good prank in this chapter, no? You approve? ::smile::

**SiriuslyPadfoot'sGal**I would email you all my thoughts (since I have too many on this awesome subject), but unfortunately, my email is down. So, I'll email ya once it's up, okay? And thanks a lot!

**Chrissy**Well, I actually believe in the time-travelling rules that are explained in the movie, Back to the Future. (It's a great trilogy. If you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend it.) But the other one, the one you mentioned, makes sense too. But unfortunately, I didn't notice that until I was already nine chapters in my story, so I stuck with my old version of time-travelling. Oh well. But thanks!

**BlackAngell-1391:** Good idea about the letter! Unfortunately, the only problem is, how would it get to Hermione and Harry? I could make up something, but I try to stick to the rules laid down by J.K. Rowling… But thanks anyway! (There will be a visit from someone from the future…. Whether it's physically, mentally, or spiritually, I cannot tell.)

**Nathalie:** I would give you my real name, for your openings on your review, but I just love seeing my fanficiton name, "Accio Flaming Stake"… Just thought you'd like to know ::smile:: I was dying to email you after I received your review, but alas, my email is down, so I couldn't. Maybe when it's ready, I'll give a ring. So much to talk about!!! Oh yeah, and….. THANKS!!

Now, here are just a few more notes to all my readers!

First: Hermione's attitude during the end of chapter 23 and chapter 24 when she's around Sirius and Remus. More specifically, when she's "flirting" with them. I'm sorry if it looks out of character a little, but there's no other way to write it! I've tried, but this was as close as I can get. (Doesn't mean there won't be more, though!)

Second: Some of you keep asking me when Harry and Hermione will head back to their present/future time. Now, what if I really told you all? That would take all the fun out of it! So, I'm afraid I will be remaining silent until that time. This also goes with present/future chapters that take a look at how things are going in the present without Harry and Hermione. I shan't tell you. It'll just take all the fun out of it!!!

Third: None of you commented on this in your reviews, but I felt the need to explain something. There is a reason at why Sirius knows some Muggle information (i.e. Beatles, Love Potion Number Nine, Monkee's, etc.). Since he strongly opposes his family, he will do anything to upset them, including researching on this they despise (Muggle stuff). So there. That's my reasoning. Also, it's just fun to include in my story. J


	25. Chapter 25: Pinocchio, a Mime, and a Boy

I don't own anything that somebody else owns.

* * *

**Chapter 25: Pinocchio, a Mime, and a Boy**

Remus Lupin was sitting in one of Grimmauld Place's many haunted rooms. He used to work there often, writing away at his Order of the Phoenix notes, with Sirius Black pacing in front of the fireplace. Remus would quietly listen to Sirius's rants about his concerns, either about Harry, Voldemort, or Dumbledore (more specifically, Dumbledore's orders to Sirius). Then Sirius would stop pacing, turn to Remus, and ask for his advice, only to continue pacing once again. But none of that was to happen ever again.

The room was a massive-sized study with its own miniature library along the back wall. Sirius introduced this room when this house was made headquarters, knowing that this space was a near-perfect room for his friend. (Some of the more unpleasant things were all the green and snakes and evil pictures depicted on the wall paintings.) At the moment, the only light in the room was a faintly glowing candle placed on the desk at which Remus was sitting straight-backed at. This was Remus's refuge before and after the battle at the Department of Mysteries. But instead of feeling that sense of old friendship, as he used to before, all that hung in the air now was misery.

The door was ajar, and Remus liked it that way. It meant that he wasn't totally blocking everyone out, but then again, he wasn't welcoming them with open arms. Especially Snape. Every meeting for the Order of the Phoenix, Snape would sneer a slimy comment about the two Potters (James or Harry) or about Sirius. Remus would bite back his tongue, but allow his eyes to show his anger. He found that as each day passed, he grew a little less easy-going. How odd.

As well as his always-mellow demeanor starting to inch away, he found memories of his childhood without Harry and Hermione in it, his original memories, starting to fade away, too. Now it seemed impossible to remember what the old Masquerade Ball was like, or the day after Snape found out about Remus's… condition. Speaking of Snape……

At that moment, Remus's ears perked up at the sound of humming echoing down the corridor. It was coming from a male travelling down the hall. Who could be singing such an upbeat song? None of the Weasley kids were home yet. The next sight made Remus stare in terrified awe: Snape.

Snape was gliding down the hall, billowing black cape and all. But suddenly, a random Muggle song just popped in his head. Love Potion Number Nine. He hadn't heard that song since… "_Potter…Granger…_" Snape growled as he passed by Remus's door, stopping the humming immediately. "Stop ruining my life already, would you?" he muttered under his breath. "Like father like son… oh, what people see in either of them…"

And Remus could hear no more as Snape turned a corner and flew up a flight of stairs. Remus was about to let out a quiet chuckle when his head started to pound horribly. His quill dropped from his hands, his heavy breathing blew out the only source of light, and scenes started to project across his mind and eyes. His childhood. More specifically, his years at Hogwarts.

Younger Remus, around the age of seventeen, was standing underneath a tree… with a girl. Next came a flash of his jacket on that same girl. Remus buying sweets galore, some for him, yes, but some for her, too. Hermione's face inches away from his, staring deeply in his eyes…

Remus sat up in his chair, looking around the study with a jerk at every turn. All he could see was the crack between the door and its frame, at which a sliver of light was shining on his face from outside. Those images, they were memories, he realized. "Oh, Hermione, what are you doing?" Remus whispered in the dark.

* * *

"Hermione, what are you doing?" seventeen-year-old Remus asked Hermione. The girl, oddly enough, was sticking her nose up in the air, towards Remus's face, and sniffing. Hermione stopped with innocent big eyes. 

"Just making sure you didn't indulge yourself with chocolate before the feast," she said with a shrug. Looking at Remus's taken aback face, she had to let out a little chuckle. "It'll spoil your dinner, won't it?"

Remus smiled. "Ah, but didn't you know? Chocolate comes from cocoa beans, and beans are vegetables. So therefore, I was eating my vegetables, which are a healthy part of a dinner course."

Hermione could only laugh. "Well, you seemed to have done your research on the subject of chocolate." She slid her hands into her pockets of her dry sweater, for she had changed out of her muddy outfit from Hogsmeade. Remus's jacket still lay on her bed. For some reason, she didn't return it back to him right away.

"You know, he's even checked out a few books on chocolate over the years," Sirius Black commented as he slid down the stone banister next to the staircases. Landing gracefully on his feet next to Hermione, he looked over and winked at her. "Long time no see," he said smoothly.

It had been forty-some minutes since everyone departed to their common rooms after the Hogsmeade trip. The Gryffindor sixth years were on their way to the last all-school feast. Then, most of the students would be heading off to their home. According to Lily Evans, only forty-two of the one thousand Hogwarts students were staying.

Lily, Freya, and Dana were walking quite a distance behind Remus, Hermione, and Sirius. James and Saumya had been arguing about the Quidditch World Cup that would take place in a little less than two years with Harry listening quietly. After Sirius had left their conversation to join up with Hermione, James and Saumya had taken up the banister-sliding. Harry just quickened his pace and was soon walking right behind Hermione and Remus.

James, at the top of the banister, bellowed down to Sirius, who was at in the middle of the staircase, "Come on, Padfoot! Join us!"

Sirius, not likely to keep his friend waiting, grabbed Hermione's hand, kissing it with a bow, and hopped on the railing, right before James and Saumya (who was a few feet behind the gliding James) flew past.

The two boys picked up speed with every smooth turn they took, leaving Saumya behind quite a few feet. After a few flights of banister-gliding, James and Sirius found that they couldn't stop, even if they wanted to. The boys were in hysterics. Their laughter rang throughout the chambers and corridors. But as luck would have it, the staircase they were traveling on now began to shift. The end of the railing led to nowhere, just empty space!

"AHH!" James and Sirius screamed as they went flying through air. Saumya, a few feet back, had enough time to slow down so she wouldn't meet the same doom as the other two. Fortunately and unfortunately for James and Sirius, they sailed over to an adjacent corridor, and got a soft entry landing—on top of Professor Smirch.

Sirius jumped up onto his feet with a maniacal grin shining on his face. With his hands curled up into tight fists, he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Let's do that again!" he ecstatically to James, who had hopped to his feet, too. Both disregarded the crumpled form of Smirch on the floor. That is, until she realized what had happened.

Professor Smirch shook her head in a few short jerks, looked at the energized boys buzzing above her, and let out a blend of a growl and a groan. Paying no attention to the un-graded papers that lay next to her, Smirch slowly stood up with a deathly glower aimed right at James and Sirius. At the blaring words that burst from the enraged Professor's mouth, both Gryffindor boys jumped in the air, quite startled, and stared wide-eyed at Smirch. "DETENTION! A MONTH'S DETENTION FOR BOTH OF YOU!"She ended with her huffing and puffing that she saved only for the Marauders.

Sirius and James looked as if all they wanted to do was laugh their heads off, but they somehow managed to refrain themselves. After giving his friend a sideways glance, signalizing to play along, James screwed up his face in what, to him, seemed like an innocent face. "Why, professor, what did we do wrong?" he asked. He folded his hands behind his back, twisting his body back and forth only slightly, and gazed at her with huge, hazel eyes. He looked like a little schoolboy trying to get away with spreading finger-paint all over a girl's face and hair.

Professor Smirch almost shook with rage. "What did you do? What did you do!" she snarled. "You boys were just sliding down the railing of a staircase—"

"Well, professor," James interrupted. "I don't mean to argue, but that isn't against school rules. I checked." His grin widened at Smirch's death glare.

"Also," she continued as if there had been no disruption, "you two force-fed a love potion to Severus Snape."

"Is there any proof?" Sirius interjected.

Smirch glowered, her eyes narrowing into two tiny slits. "Who else would do such a thing? And, while we're at it, I'll take away twenty points for contradicting me." She looked down at her left arm which was hanging limply at her side. "And I think you two broke my arm!" The professor growled and screamed at the same time (which James and Sirius took a step back at; they had never heard a sound quite like that). "I'll see you both tomorrow after dinner in my office." She jerked her wand from her side, guiding her fallen papers under her right arm, and left without another glance at the two Gryffindor boys.

"What's your bet that by tomorrow, they add in a 'No banister-sliding' rule?" Sirius choked out through his incessant smiling.

"You really think it'll take that long?" James added with a mirror image of his friend's grin.

"How long are you two in for?" rang a voice across the column of staircases (A/N: This staircase space-thing is based off of the movie versions… I really can't begin to fathom what they're like in the books.) James and Sirius whipped their heads around to find the rest of the Gryffindor gang on the opposite corridor. It was Remus who had shouted over to his fellow Marauders.

"A month," James shouted back.

"And no more than you deserve," Lily sniffed in a normal tone. James heard this and it seemed as if his whole body slumped at her comment. One glance at Harry, though, reminded him of Lily's future.

"You know Evans, I always get bored during those long night hours… you could always sneak in and entertain me." James watched in glee as Lily stopped suddenly and turned around with a grave air about her face. Before she could scream out her lungs, Harry broke into a horrible, hacking cough and did not stop until Lily closed her mouth again.

"You might want to take care of that throat, Thewler," James yelled over to Harry with a wink.

"Yeah, it's amazing at what bad stuff goes in and _comes out of people's mouths_, eh?" Harry returned with a large smirk. James just nodded his head with a smile.

Everyone else stood completely in the dark.

"Riiiiight," Sirius said, breaking the hush. "We'll see you at the Great Hall," he said, referring to the fact that he and James could not get back to the group on a count of changing staircases. Turning his back on the other Gryffindors, Sirius laid his hands on top of James's shoulders, spun his friend around, and shoved him down the hall. When they were both out of earshot of the others, Sirius hissed, "What the hell was that about, Prongs?"

"What was what about?" James said uneasily. He was still having inner qualms about telling Sirius about the marriage James and Lily were inevitably going to have in the future.

"About that—that episode back there with Thewler?" Sirius glared suspiciously. "What did he mean, what comes out of people's mouths?"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Hogwart's two favourite gormless gits," sneered a greasy voice that James and Sirius had the displeasure to know quite well. Severus Snape was standing by a suit of armor deep in the shadows.

"This should be fun," James whispered to Sirius before the spells went flying.

The other six Gryffindors made it to the Great Hall without any encounters from people that were furious at them. Looking up and down the Gryffindor table and never seeing either of the last two Marauders, they chose their own spot to sit at and started in on their dinner. Lily, sitting between Saumya and Hermione was discussing the holidays with both girls. Hermione and Remus were sitting opposite each other, talking away about _Hogwarts: A History_ with Harry sitting beside Hermione while listening, feeling rather bored.

It was well after Dumbledore had started and finished his short speech (about how this was the last day before the holidays, and that everyone was expected to arrive at the designated time the next year) when two boys collapsed into the seats opposite Lily and Saumya.

"What happened to you two?" Remus snorted into his shepherd pie.

James (seated beside Remus and opposite Lily) was sitting awkwardly on the bench, fidgeting with his napkin that lay on his lap. His mouth was oddly kept shut. Also, he avoided all eye contact with his friends, which was a very strange thing for James Potter to do. He rubbed his nose.

If James was sitting awkwardly, it was nothing compared to Sirius. When he had sat down, he was airborne for an unnaturally long time. As to explain the defiance of gravity, above him was a wooden **X** with brown, sturdy stings hanging down from it which connected with Sirius's main limbs. His joints had been changed to only move a certain way, limiting most movement. Indeed, Sirius Black was now a marionette.

Sirius cast James a sideways look. James signaled for his friend to explain, but never opening his mouth. Smirking, Sirius started to recite to his anxious crowd of the Gryffindor sixth years.

"Well, in the time between when we last saw you all and right now , James and I got jumped by a certain Slytherin—"

Lily quickly shot daggers at James, who opened his mouth to say that Sirius's words were true, but caught himself, and closed his mouth again (but still wore round, innocent eyes behind his glasses).

Sirius snickered before continuing. "Naturally, Snape began to shoot hexes at us right and left. We dodged all that we could and gave a few of our own—to get away safely, but we got hit—"

"With what?" asked Saumya, eyeing the strings holding Sirius up. "You're a bloody puppet!" Looking at James, she added, "And what are you, a mute?"

"I'm getting there!" Sirius growled, his arms bobbing in midair. "James and I were hit with the same spell. It grazed my arm and the rest of the magic hit James," he clapped his friend on the back, "square on the nose."

"What spell was it?" Hermione asked curiously.

Sirius grinned a Cheshire-cat-like grin. "It's one of the spells Snivellus concocted himself, so you won't have heard of it…. It's called the Pinocchio Curse."

For a fleeting moment all was dead silent. Then Lily, Hermione, Saumya, Harry, and Remus started laughing hysterically. This caused other neighboring students to jump in their seats, startled by the abruptness of the laughter.

Hermione, first to finish laughing, was looking questioningly at James. "But James," she said, once the laughter finally died out, "if the spell hit you, why aren't you affected?"

Before James could think, he said crossly, "I'm not affected, though."

Immediately, James's hands flew up and clamped over his mouth. But it was too late; his words were already spoken. James, little by little, became cross-eyed as he gazed in horror at his nose. It was inching along in length; now James Potter's nose was four inches long.

Out of all the laughter coming from surrounding students, none compared to the laughter of Lily. She was howling with glee, pounding the table with her fists. Other students looked alarmingly at the young prefect girl, for there were few moments where Lily Evans would cackle uncontrollably. Even Professor McGonagall's attention shifted from her knish to the maniacal girl (but saw the marionette planks floating magically above Sirius's head and shrugged it as normal).

"James Potter finally got his comeuppance!" Her screech ended in giggles.

James seemed to shrink with disappointment. He slouched down. His eyes adverted to his empty plate with his nose protruding unnaturally from his face. "I'm hurt," he half-whimpered, half-whispered. His nose gradually regressed back into its original length.

"How did you do that?" Saumya asked, sounding between amazed and disappointed.

"Do you know who Pinocchio is?" Sirius asked.

But before he would explain, and after Saumya shook her head, Hermione decided to be the one to enlighten, since that was once her favourite story as a child. "Pinocchio was a wooden puppet. And he would only become a _real_ boy when he proved himself when he was brave and truthful. When he told a lie, his nose would grow longer and longer. One of the stories is that when he told the truth right afterwards, his nose would shrink every time until it was normal again."

"Doesn't he also turn into an ass?" snorted Lily. She had been partially touched when James spoke "the truth", but flashes of him lying his way through Hogwarts, either to friends, students, or teachers (even Dumbledore!) set things straight in her mind once again.

"That was because of Pleasure Island, not Pinocchio himself," said Sirius with a sneer.

"You know the story of Pinocchio?" Hermione asked, not believing Sirius's words. From what she had heard in Grimmauld Place, Mr. and Mrs. Black were rather strict purebloods, never associating with anything remotely Muggle. And she was sure Pinocchio wasn't in their fairy tale books.

"Of course," Sirius said with a genuine smile. His shoulders shrugged as the strings above him tightened. "It was my childhood favourite."

"Your parents would let you read Muggle stories?"

"Well, I had to hide it under a loose floorboard."

Hermione smiled at the thought of young Sirius hiding under his bed covers with his Muggle fairy tales book. Before she could comment, there was an abrupt laughter from the entrance of the Great Hall. What it was, the six Gryffindors could not see. James and Sirius glanced at each other with their usual mischievous smirks.

"Did you two have anything to do with whatever is causing laughs at the Slytherin table?" Lily asked sharply.

James may have heard her, but he didn't react. He rubbed his hands together and stared at the food. "Ah, I could eat a whole hippogriff," he said with glee while reaching for the dinner food. Automatically, his nose began to grow in length again. "Aw, come on! I can't even use sarcasm!" he screamed at his nose. This caught everyone else's attention and gained another round of laughter. "Not even a bloody metaphor…" James moaned, his nose still four inches long. "Fine, you win… let's see, truth…. Sirius is sitting next to me." His nose started to shrink again.

"Hey James, are you talking to your nose again?" Harry asked, giving himself a laugh.

"Funny, Thewler," James grumbled. "Real witty."

Beside James was Sirius trying to grab some food. Unfortunately, the curse that was still upon restrained him from the proper use of his hands. Sure, his fingers were still normal, but it was a matter of turning his wrist and arm to take hold of something. Sirius couldn't quite grasp the handle of a fork.

"Er—can someone help me out here?" he said weakly, his hands bobbing up and down pathetically.

"Does ickle Siri need some help?" James teased.

"As a matter of fact, he does," said Sirius pleadingly. Out of the blue, food started to levitate over to his plate. He gazed questionably around until he spotted Hermione with her wand out. "Thanks," he said with a wink. His fork floated up and adjusted its angle so Sirius could grab hold of it.

"You're welcome," Hermione said with a chirp. From her right came a slight jab at her ribs. Harry was giving her a hairy eye. She maintained her usual air, but her eyebrows became slightly creased.

After they finally finished their meal (Sirius took the longest), they all slowly made their way to the entrance hall when James and Sirius spotted someone else leaving from the Slytherin table. Both Marauders hurried ahead of Lily, Hermione, Harry, and Remus.

"Oy! Snivellus!" Sirius called out. Within seconds, James and Sirius were three feet behind Snape.

Snape, oddly enough, didn't make for his wand, nor did he sneer a pathetic insult. Instead, he just turned around painfully slow. The rest of the Gryffindor gang took a step back in surprise at the Slytherin's face.

Snape's face was completely pure white. It wasn't abnormally pale, but it seemed as it was painted. To add to the effect, he wore a black beret. His face also spoke, because of its features and arrangement, "What do you want?", but no word ever escaped his mouth.

Sirius leaned closer to James and whispered exasperatedly, "Why did we have to curse him with a Mime Hex?"

On the other hand, James broke into a smile. "Who cares? This is going to be _very _interesting." James looked up to Snape's furious features. "Can you tell us—or should I say act out?—about this stupid hex you put on me and my counterpart?"

For the first time, Snape's grimacing, incensed face left and was replaced with a good-natured sort of face, laughing pleasurably (but silently). His gaze altered behind James and Sirius for a moment, and he burst into heavier silent mirth. It was Lily he had looked at.

James glanced over his shoulder to Lily, who was as equally confused as James. Looking back at the mime, James demanded ferociously, "What does she have to do with this?" He fingered the strings holding Sirius's hand up.

With the sound of a creaking marionette, Sirius clomped his way over to the silent boy. His steps were high off the ground, and he seemed to bob across the corridor. Both boys, Sirius and Snape, were laughing their heads off at the other's misfortunate curse: Snape the Mime and Sirius the Marionette. It was a sight to see, sworn enemies laughing joyously in the same vicinity.

With a jerky movement, and some difficulties (which caused Snape to chuckle silently again), Sirius pulled something out of his pocket. A quill and a spare piece of parchment. "Unless you want to act it out for us…" Sirius grinned as Snape grudgingly took it, his laughter dying. He pushed one side of Sirius, who involuntarily spun around, his arms flailing about. Snape started to write on the parchment, using Sirius's back as a substitute desk.

James watched closely. He spotted the few times where Snape would actually crack a smile. Soon afterwards, Snape took the paper off of Sirius's back and gave him a good shove. Sirius stumbled forward, tripping on one of his own strings, and tumbled painfully into Hermione. They both toppled to the ground.

Silence screamed in both Hermione's and Sirius's ears as the world around them turned fuzzy, for this was as physically close as they had ever been. Both were deeply entangled in his marionette strings. Hermione's body was pushed right up against Sirius's, her hands lying on his chest. Sirius was in the same position, although his hands were down by Hermione's mid-thigh. Even though Sirius found this situation quite all right, one thing proved uncomfortable, and that was Hermione's nose poking his eye.

Hermione found this situation awful yet pleasing at the same time, which drove her into more madness. She tried struggling her way out of his strings, but that led to worse positioning. Sirius's face was now past her neck. She could almost picture his smirk in her mind. Her fury was ended as Harry and Remus hurriedly helped Hermione out. She stumbled out finally, accidentally kicking Sirius on the shoulder.

"Sorry!" Hermione quickly apologized. She went for her wand to help Sirius out of his own tangles, but the magic from his hex did it on its own. Sirius was now back to bobbing up and down with Hermione standing (and blushing) beside him. They made immediate eye contact before Hermione smiled and turned towards James, who was still reading Snape's piece of parchment. Sirius, sighing, tuned his focus back to James and Snape.

"What do you mean, Lily is the only one who can get rid of this!" James yelped, staring wide-eyed at the paper.

Snape, grinning, walked over to Lily. He grabbed her arm and pointed to her sleeve, which was blue, and kept on pointing at it.

"Ooo, charades! I love charades!" joked Sirius, clapping his hands together. This earned him a glare from Snape. "Let's see… sweater? No… cotton?… no… blue?"

Snape nodded his head, as if pained by the stupidity surrounding him. Then, stepping away from Lily, he started to flap his arms, as if they were wings.

"Bird… Blue bird?" guessed Sirius. "No… Blue… blue… Blue Faerie!" he shouted. "Lily is Pinocchio's Blue Faerie!"

Snape, once again, nodded slowly, though this time his eyes were set maliciously on James and Lily.

"Are you meaning to say that you concocted a spell that, not only turns us into a Pinocchio, but also that allowed Lily Evans to be the only one to end of it?" James asked slowly. "You have no life, do you, Snivellus?"

Snape glared.

"How?" Lily spoke up.

Snape looked insulted to be spoken to by her. Even so, he scribbled on the piece of parchment.

"Finite Incanta—" Lily stopped. "Wait. Why should I free you two?" She folded her arms and stared at Sirius and James, not looking so unlike Professor McGonagall. Snape was beaming wickedly from behind her at the same two boys. He knew this was going to happen, hence why he specifically chose that Mudblood.

"Because we're the two best looking guys in school?" James suggested. He paused. "Hey! My nose didn't grow!" He touched his nose, just to make sure. A completely arrogant grin was now placed on his face.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Maybe this'll end all that sarcasm and lies that drip out of your mouths."

"But we never lie," James said indignantly. His nose began to grow. "All right, well, maybe we do sometimes." His nose went back to normal. "But still!" He looked hopefully at Lily, who remained as stubborn as ever. James wasn't going to get anywhere. So he took his disappointment and anger out on his only major rival. "Snivellus, we'll make you a deal."

Snape raised an eyebrow lazily, as if not interested in what James had to say. However, James ignored this and continued.

"You can't just have someone say 'Finite Incantatem' to remove your little Mime Hex, can you? We, Sirius and I, made up the countercurse, so you have no idea what the incantation is." James paused, looked at Lily, then straight back at Snape. "We'll take that curse off you… as soon as Lily takes your curse off of us."

If glares could kill, the Marauders would have been dead before this for sure, but this was one of Snape's top ten most powerful glares. He looked between Lily, Sirius, and James, and snorted angrily. But since he could cast no spells, he did what mimes would do in a time like this: mime. Snape mimed wrapping an invisible rope around an invisible person's head and pulled an invisible rope down, symbolizing a hanging. Next he ran his finger over his own throat, looking pointedly at James and Sirius, and made a choking face. Then he left in a flash, running down the stairs that lead to the dungeons.

"Well, I think that was the funniest thing I've seen…" James's nose began to grow— "all day," he finished quickly. His nose shrank again. He sighed heavily, spiraling around to face Lily. "Please, Lily, can't you take this curse off of us? Please?" he begged. James fell to his knees and clapped his hands together. "I'll do anything. Just say the incantation." He looked up at her with pleading eyes.

Lily just laughed loudly and openly. "Well this day has indeed proven to be interesting. Unfortunately, Potter, I have to go do my prefect duties soon (as does Remus), so I'm afraid I can't help you at the moment." She started to walk off towards the prefect meeting room.

"Evans!" Sirius shouted. His arm flew up and he cupped his hand around his mouth, but ending up smacking his nose. "It's two bloody words and a wave of your wand. It'll take only six seconds, won't it?"

Lily turned around, amused.

"I can understand you leaving James like that," Sirius continued. "He deserves to not be able to tell lies. But what good will a puppet form do for me? Where's a moral lesson in that?"

"There is no lesson," said Lily simply. "It's just hilarious to watch." With a giggle, she skipped up the rest of the stairs.

"Can you believe her?" Sirius growled, spinning back to the rest of the Gryffindors. "Leaving us like _this_?" He grabbed the string connected to his right leg and gave it a tiny tug, at which his leg flew up, then straight down again.

"What did you mean, mate," James started at Sirius, "that I deserved to tell only the truth?"

"I was only saying that so Evans would take this ruddy curse off us," said Sirius.

"Well, who says Snape was being entirely truthful?" suggested Hermione. "I mean, he could have just been lying to you, just so you would go to greater, more embarrassing lengths for freedom again."

"It's possible," Remus agreed. He glanced at his old, beat-up watch. "But Lily's right. I do have prefect duties." Looking at Sirius dangling, he added, "Good luck with finding a countercurse." He snorted and ran up the stairs before Sirius could get in another word.

"Git," Sirius mumbled jokingly. To Harry, Hermione, and James, he asked, "So… what now?"

* * *

"Ouch! Hermione! That hurts!" Sirius kept on howling. 

"I'm sorry, Sirius, but there's no way you can cut these strings with regular scissors," Hermione said quietly, laying down an old pair of scissors on a table.

The foursome (Harry, Hermione, James, and Sirius) were in the common room, which was quite empty, since a majority of the students had already left for the holidays. They were all thinking of ways to end the Pinocchio Curse. Hermione had suggested just cutting Sirius strings off with regular scissors, but it appeared that the strings were now part of Sirius's body, and therefore, hurtful if damaged.

"What about a Severing Charm?" a seventh year boy suggested, walking up to the foursome. He had long, black hair and an odd sort of nose. He wore an odd Muggle jacket, as if he had just come back from the Salvation Army band practice. Also, next to his side was a Hispanic girl named Novia giggling at the circumstances that Sirius was hanging in. James, standing loyally behind his friend, started to mock Sirius, jumping up and down like a mad, deranged puppet. This caused more laughter from the girl and a grin from the boy.

"Hey, that might work!" Sirius said excitedly, oblivious to James's dance that was going on behind him. "Thanks, Shear."

"Don't mention it," said Billy Shear **1**. He strolled to the back staircase, nodding his head to an imaginary song stuck in his head. Novia giggled, walking beside him.

Hermione tried the Severing Charm on Sirius. The only affect it had on Sirius was the volume of his screaming.

"It wouldn't hurt to try 'finite incantatem', would it?" Harry said, falling back into one of the chairs. They had been at this for over forty minutes, starting with James's removal of the curse, then went on to Sirius.

"Finite Incantatem," Hermione said, swishing her wand and ending with a jab towards Sirius.

Nothing happened.

"I'm out of ideas," Hermione sighed. "Of course, I could always do some research on it, but I'm sure the library is close by now." She leisurely sat down in on of the chairs by the fire, next to Harry. Tilting her head in puzzlement, she gazed intently at Sirius. "I wonder…" She let a little giggle escape from her lips. "Come here, Sirius."

Sirius stared questioningly at her as he walked over, his feet flying feet above the ground with each step. He finally made it over to her without tripping over anything. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"Sit down on the floor, here." She patted the ground in front of her chair with her foot.

He plopped down on the ground, facing her.

"Now, turn towards James and Harry," she instructed as if to a five-year-old.

He spun around on his buttocks.

"Now, relax…." Hermione took the wooden planks floating above his head, which were at her eye level, into her hands. Twitching one side of one plank upward, Sirius's corresponding hand flew up. "Wow, you're a real puppet!" giggled Hermione. Sirius let out a bark-like laugh, as usual, which was his signal for her to carry on. And she did.

Hermione made Sirius flail his arms about and a Muggle dance called the hokey-pokey, which caused James to laugh like mad. James wanted to go next, at which point Sirius was a little apprehensive about.

"You don't have a choice, mate," James said eagerly, clambering onto the chair Hermione had occupied moments before. Standing on the chair this time, James was able to puppet Sirius with his friend standing up, too. James conducted Sirius to do the disco and go into crazy positions that the game Twister would be proud of.

"All right, that's enough," Sirius cried out as he was galloping on nothing in midair. "I'm not a puppet you know. I'm a real boy."

"No you're not," James corrected.

A thunderous explosion sounded from up the back staircase. It took a moment for James to recognize what it was. He let out a high-pitched scream.

"Oh no! This is bad!" James dropped the wooden planks, which hit Sirius sorely on the head. Running to the stairs, he yelled, "Thewler! We were supposed to stop that spell twenty minutes ago!"

"Damn it," cursed Harry as he ran towards James.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, rubbing his head while making his way over to the two other boys.

James, halfway up the stairs, stopped and abruptly turned at Sirius. "Do NOT come up to the dormitory. Don't even think about it. We'll get you when… we're done."

"This has to do with that mysterious trip you two took during Hogsmeade, isn't it?" Sirius asked slyly.

James and Harry looked at each other for a moment. "Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies," Harry said before disappearing up to their dormitory.

Sirius spun around to Hermione. "Alone at last," he purred.

"Don't even think about it, Black," Hermione said at once. "I'm going up to my room."

"And leave me all alone?" Sirius pouted. "I can't go up to my dormitory and won't be able to for quite some time, by the looks of it…. Please Hermione, stay with me?" Wearing the round, puppy-dog eyes, he won her over.

"But only until Remus arrives or when James and Harry are done with—whatever they're doing up there," said Hermione firmly. As she watched Sirius clambered over to her, she grinned and sat down in the one-person chair by the fire. "So… what did you have in mind?"

"You mean, something that you'll approve of?" Sirius questioned, giving off that sense of conceitedness. He pulled out a pack of cards. "Exploding Snap?"

Fifty minutes later:

"You little cheater!" Hermione laughed, slapping Sirius on the arm.

"How could I cheat?"

Hermione gazed cynically at him. "I don't know… but I know you did."

Sirius laughed as soft, lovable one. He looked around at their setting. It was actually quite romantic, minus the marionette strings hanging gloomily above him.

It was already deep into the night, the stars twinkling merrily in the clear sky. Inside the common room was sweetly silent, with the occasional hoot of an owl from outside. The fireplace was crackling away, adding warmth to the once-chilly common room. Sirius and Hermione were sitting on the floor, facing each other, in front of the flames, silently playing cards (wincing at the explosion of the deck). Every so often they would look up at each other at the same time, catching the fire in their eyes.

"Er… what do you think they're doing up there?" Sirius asked, just to break the silence. He jerked his head up towards the boys' dormitories. "James and Harry, I mean."

"No doubt rustling up some father-son prank," said Hermione boredly, sneaking in a yawn. She closely examined Sirius's features as he stared at the cards in his hands. All she noticed was anger, jealousy. "It won't be for long."

Seeing that Hermione was opening up a deeper conversation than one about flobberworms, Sirius took his chance. "It's just that James and I are always the ones who scheme and plot… it's strange to have another take your place."

"Harry is not taking your place," Hermione said.

"I know. I know…. Also, James and I haven't been as together this year as others. That's another strange thing."

"Well, things will be back to normal once Harry and I leave."

Sirius looked up from his cards instantaneously. "But I don't want you to go away," he said solemnly.

"Sirius, you know we're going to have to sometime."

"But what if you didn't leave?" asked Sirius. Hermione opened her mouth disapprovingly. "No, listen," Sirius pleaded, "what if you two stayed here? Would that be so bad?"

"Yes, it would," Hermione said. "We know what's going to happen to you four, and not all of it is sunshine and daisies. If we stay here, we'll feel inclined to change things, which we cannot do."

Sirius thoughtfully paused. He bent forward, his face several inches away from Hermione's. She did not back away. "Well then why not enjoy the time you have here then? Why not make it the best you can?…" He leaned in even closer. "…Why hold back?" Sirius tried to catch Hermione's lips, but she tilted her head backwards.

"Please, Sirius, don't make me do this," she said softly, almost pleading.

"Do what?" Sirius kept on inching towards her.

"Ahem," came from the portrait hole. Remus was back.

Lily had stayed behind to talk to the Head Girl about the holidays. So Remus left and was slowly making his way to Gryffindor Tower. He had been contemplating all that had happened today. The morning started out eating breakfast with Sirius and Hermione. Then came Hogsmeade, which was most perplexing to Remus. The whole scene at the Shrieking Shack made his insides squirm. Being so close to Hermione and not being able to do anything romantic was enough to make Remus want to kick something. And he did. And his toe started to throb. After Hogsmeade, Sirius and James got turned into Pinocchio. And now, as he stepped into the Gryffindor common room, Remus spotted Sirius trying to kiss Hermione. What a busy day today had been!

Although, the one aspect of the current situation between Sirius and Hermione that Remus found amusing, not to mention comforting, was Hermione was backing away from Sirius, on her own accord. Now Remus stood still, with his arms crossed over his chest, and Sirius and Hermione staring wide-eyed at him. Hermione scrambled straight away from Sirius, rocketing up to her feet. Sirius just let his eyes shrink a little before he attempted to stand up. A few more tries and the strings finally let him stand. Before he could say anything cocky to Remus, James and Harry emerged from the back stairs.

"Sirius—" James panted, since he had just sprinted like mad down the stairs, "could you—er—help us out upstairs?"

"Sure thing, mate," Sirius said, not taking his eyes off of Remus.

Sirius took his eyes off his friends finally, shot a glance at Hermione, before galumphing over to James. Remus made to follow them, assuming that they needed his help too.

"Er—Moony…" James started. "You may not want to see this." He poked his finger towards the upstairs. "We'll get you once it's—er… cleaned up, all right?" Without waiting for an answer, he disappeared upstairs, Harry and Sirius trailing behind.

Remus rounded on Hermione. She, conversely, was fiddling with the cards lying on the floor. He walked over to her and knelt beside her. "Let me help you with that," he said sweetly. He began to pick the cards up along with her. As she grabbed for one under the table, it exploded.

"Ouch!"

Hermione hugged her right hand that now had scorch marks all over her slender fingers. She slipped from her knees to her bottom on the floor. Rubbing it, she took her hand away from her to examine the damage.

"Here, let me see," Remus said. Hermione slowly reached out her hurt hand for Remus. He took it in his large, strong hands. Rotating it a little, he gently touched her fingers. She didn't even flinch. "You look all right. You'll want to be careful." Remus looked up to her eyes. "And not with just Exploding Snap cards."

"What do you—" Hermione began. Before she could piece it together, Remus spoke.

"I mean Sirius. He won't take no for an answer, no matter the question." He looked intensely into her toffee-coloured eyes and detected a flicker.

"I know," Hermione said at last, sounding heavy with concern. "But he needs to. He needs to take the hint that I don't want to be with him."

Remus started to nod respectively, but processed her words. "Want?" he repeated. "You don't want to?"

It was a tense moment. Remus was still holding her hand, looking questioningly at her. Hermione didn't mean to say that aloud. She had been planning to say, "He needs to understand that I can't be with him," but those words were lost as she kept on gazing at Remus. Why was that?

"I mean, I can't be with him," Hermione said quickly. She pulled her hand away from his. "It doesn't matter who I want to be with. It'll be impossible." _And painful._

"Hermione—"

"Moony!" yelled Sirius from their dormitory. He was at the top of the stairs, so he could not see the scene below. "We need your assistance! James and Harry seemed to have left a hefty stain on your bed and it won't come off. Also, I think it's pulsing and growing a mind of its own."

Remus smiled lightly at the flight of steps before looking solemnly at Hermione. "Just think about it," was all he said. Remus handed her the extra Exploding Snap cards and disappeared from the common room.

So Hermione started to think. She started to think about every single detail that was happening in her life during this era. She thought of the people. She thought of the experiences. She thought of all the repercussions of her actions. Or at least, she would have if Lily hadn't popped in moments after Remus left, and dragged her upstairs, saying that they needed their beauty sleep.

Hermione didn't have the chance to think that night. Lily and Saumya stayed up past midnight chatting with Hermione, since it was just those two in the dormitory. Freya and Dana had already trekked their way to Hogsmeade to catch the Hogwarts Express back home.

Finally, around three in the morning, Hermione lay quietly in her warm, cozy bed, her ears taking in the chorus of heavy breathing and light snores. But she did not actually listen to which snores belonged to whom, for her mind was delving into more serious matters, as had tried to a few hours previous. Yet, the topic of discussion in her mind was not time-travelling or anything so dramatic. No, it was boys. Two particular boys.

There was no point in denying that she didn't have feelings for either Remus or Sirius. She knew it. And, even better, she accepted it. Although, Hermione did go through everything horrible that could (and probably would) come out of her infatuation, but she didn't care anymore (… as much.) A matter that had been pressing on her mind was, _Which__ boy?_

In front of her eyes flashed a close-up of Sirius. It was in the entrance hall, today after dinner to be exact. Snape had shoved Sirius straight into Hermione and they both toppled over, entangled in his marionette strings. The extremely close contact made Hermione's breath stop. She noticed his did, too. For a fleeting moment, their eyes had met while in such a position, and she saw lust. Lust for something he wanted so strongly, but what she failed to see was the barrier telling him no. After they finally got to their feet, Sirius had winked with an impish grin, causing Hermione to blush furiously. His grin widened.

Hermione blinked. All that she saw was the canopy of her bed.

Along came another memory. This time it included Remus. He and Hermione were standing underneath a tree near the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. She was holding him tightly around the shoulders, his hand upon her waist. Hermione gazed up into those soft, brown-with-yellow-flecks eyes and saw what seemed to be a permanent melancholy etched in his eyes. Also hidden in those eyes was desire for the impossible. The scene sped up—up to the point of where Hermione was giggling on the wet sod as Remus gently tickled her. His eyes were now shining with happiness, not sorrow. And that's the way Hermione liked them. They saw too much horror over his past seventeen years.

And again, Hermione was staring straight ahead into the darkness of her dormitory. She was hoping that these flashes of Remus and Sirius would point her in the right direction. For a moment, she thought her plan had not worked. But one more reminiscence gave her the answer.

It was in the alleyway when she was alone with Sirius. He was asking Hermione about her and Remus, and how come she never shrank away from Remus's touch, as she did with Sirius's. Her final answer was "I don't want you to get hurt… I don't want to hurt anybody." It wasn't her words that triggered her ever-sought out answer. It was the picture that was playing in her mind while she was talking to Sirius. She didn't want that person to get hurt, the one pictured in her head.

It was Remus.

* * *

A/N: Hi all! Sorry for the long update. I told you it might take a while because of my exams. And besides, for those impatient reviewers out there, take heed of what a wise reviewer once said: "Good things are worth waiting for." (Nathalie) 

Now, before any of you die-hard Sirius fans out there yell at my choice of Hermione's… choice, think about it. Do you really think Sirius will go down without a fight? Or do you think he can win fair Hermione over? OR do you believe that Hermione will fall for the sweet, sensible boy? (I was so ecstatic when I read your reviews. I can't believe that so many people switched from Sirius to Remus for Hermione.) Do you think that any of these questions have some sort of meaning to how this story ends? (If you do, you're wrong. I'm just asking these questions for the fun of it.) Also, do you really think that I'll give away the ending? Naw… where's the fun in that:)

**1—** 62,442 bonus points and a virtual gold star to whoever can tell me who Billy Shear is and 9 ¾ points if you can name what song he is famous for.

Note: I deleted entry 9, the Author's Note (the one asking about the eye colours). It was getting too confusing about which chapter I updated, so I got rid of it. Just thought you'd like to know……. Another note: to whoever wants to/is emailing me: I had to switch emails, so take note of that.

I'm afraid that my time at the computer is coming to an end. So I want to say **THANK YOU **to every single reviewer out there and a small "thanks" to those who don't review (just kidding).


	26. Chapter 26: Clouds Begin to Disappear

I don't own anything that somebody else owns.

See my perfectly good excuse for taking so long to update at the end of this chapter… enjoy!-

* * *

**Chapter 26: Clouds Begin to Disappear**

The slime was glowing a putrid purple and green. It seeped into the rich, red cloth, or it inched along, contaminating the sleek, wooden banister. The mysterious goo looked as if it came from the mouth of an extraterrestrial with chronic bronchitis. The wood began to hiss at its infectious touch.

"James You-Are-Going-To-Die-Very-Soon Potter!" snarled Remus. James cringed away from Remus's powerful yells and growls.

Sirius, however, guffawed. "Ha! Now that'd be an interesting middle name."

"It's not my fault, Moony!" James pleaded loudly (both he and Remus ignored Sirius), but his nose began to grow, ending to be four inches long, thanks to his Pinocchio Curse, disabling his ability to lie. Remus raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so maybe it is my fault that your bed is inhabited but an unnamable substance, but I didn't do it on purpose. His nose finally shrank back to its original shape and size.

"The problem is, though," Harry interrupted strongly, "that it's there _and_ it won't come off."

Remus glared shrewdly at the other boys. "_Scourgify!_" he yelled, snapping his wand towards the gunk.

Nothing happened.

"We've already tried that, Moony," James chided as if speaking to a four-year-old. "We also tried vanishing it, banishing it, even transfiguring it, but nothing has worked—"

Remus, however, was not listening to James's prattle. Staring intently at the pulsing sludge, Remus fiddled with his wand. Abruptly, he whipped it towards the green and purple gook. "_Incendio!_" And the slime burnt away into nothing.

"I was _just_ about to suggest that," smiled Sirius.

Remus rolled his eyes. "You know what? I don't care. I am just extremely tired. So, you know what I'm going to do right know, don't you? I'm going to sleep. A lot. No one even think about waking me up tomorrow morning. Good night," he finished with a tired sort of growl.

James, Harry, and Sirius all chuckled. "'Night, Moony," they chorused as they, too, climbed into their own scarlet-curtained beds. Minutes later, lights were out and all four boys were as sleepy as house-elves after just visiting a Peeves-wrecked room.

* * *

_Why?_

The words Hermione had fallen asleep to were _It was Remus_. And after her dreamless sleep, the word she woke up to was _Why?_... Why? Why what? Why Remus? Why Sirius? Why so bloody early in the morning?

As Hermione lightly placed her feet on the ground, still sitting in her bed, she caught a glimpse of the outside scenery. She did a double-take. Outside was a gorgeous scene playing before her eyes.

It was just after dawn. The sun had already poked its bald head from its hiding place behind the luscious mountains. Its gleam shone brightly on the lake, illuminating its dark depths so even the Giant Squid could be seen. The sunlight danced merrily over the once-gloomy treetops of the Forbidden Forest. Birds, including owls, were flocking in and out of the woods, and other animals shook the branches, though Hermione could not see them. The sun even reached Hagrid's little hut, which looked like a speck compared to the glorious mountains shining not so far away. The bright star in clear sky made sure all surroundings seemed suddenly bright and cheerful.

Seeing everything set aglow and the warm sun caressing her face, Hermione couldn't help but feel elevated and enlightened. After what seemed like an hour of mindless staring out of the window (and it might've been; there was no clock nearby and Hermione had found her watch mysteriously broken), Hermione remembered that she had woken up with worried thoughts. Ah, yes. Remus. Sirius. _Why?_

_Why Remus?_

She didn't mean for these thoughts to keep popping up. They just… had a mind of their own. But instead of fighting them, pushing them to the back of her mind (as she usually did), Hermione decided to follow them. It seemed as if there were two distinct voices…

**Why not Sirius?**

_It'd be too hard._

Humph. Hermione hadn't expected that one…

**Why would it be hard?**

_Because you'd be loving a dead man._

**Oh.**

_Sirius, when you finally arrive back at your own time, will be dead. There is nothing you can do to change that. So wouldn't it be easier to just fancy Remus?_

**Since when do I go for the easy route? And besides, it isn't really love that you feel for Remus, is it? You sure it's not just a friendship? You sure it's not pity? Don't confuse those two with attraction.**

_Hold your hippogriffs! You must agree that Remus is attractive. He's just so cute, sweet, quiet, humble, kind, intelligent—_

**And Sirius isn't?**

_Quiet? Humble? No._

**Deep down, he could be. And you know it.**

_……Am I arguing with myself inside my own head?_

**Looks like it, doesn't it?**

Before Hermione could say… think—another word to herself, a strong wind violently shoved her forward, causing her to stumble out of her bed and crash onto the floor. Or was it the wind?

"PEEVES!" Hermione yelled, but the Poltergeist had already flown from the scene. She gingerly rubbed her head where it had painfully collided with the cold, wooden floors.

Rustling sounds echoed through the once-dead-silent room. Moments later, Saumya Kim poked her head out from her bed curtains with a curious look hiding behind her tangled mat of jet-black hair. Lily's entrance was a little less graceful.

"This isn't what it looks like, Professor!" Lily screamed out, wiping her mouth with her sleeve of her pink pajamas. She had tried to sit up and stand up at the same time, along with rolling out of her bed, and ended up smacking her forehead against one of her bed posts. After vigorous flailing, Lily finally managed to free herself from her bed sheets.

"This isn't what what looks like?" smirked Saumya. "It wouldn't have to do with a certain James Potter, would it?" She stood up, patted hair down, and walked over to get a glass of water. Lily glared after her, though her cheeks were tinted a lovely shade of rose.

"Of course not," Lily scoffed while fixing her already-perfect red locks, tucking it behind her ear. Saumya made a disbelieving guttural sound. Lily, however, chose to ignore it, and turned her focus towards Hermione. "Hermione, you look exhausted. Did you not sleep well?" She had on a face of concern.

"No, no I didn't," sighed Hermione. "And now, thanks to Peeves, I won't be able to fall asleep again."

"Well, I won't be able to either," said Lily. "But what is there to be unhappy about? It's the holidays! Christmas will be here soon, won't it?" Saumya let out a whoop of excitement in the background. "Why not go down and get some breakfast? Might as well eat since we're awake. And the Great Hall will be emptier, too, with most of the students gone. Screaming little buggers," she finished with a grumble.

"Lily!" Saumya gasped. "Language…"

Hermione smiled, pushing her thoughts back into the corners of her mind once more. "That sounds like a good idea."

Fifteen minutes later, all three girls were showered, dressed, and out the door, on their way to breakfast.

* * *

Remus and Sirius were, surprisingly, the first to wake up in their dormitory. 

Sirius struggled as he climbed out of his bed. The previous night had not been comfortable, seeing as he had a bunch of strings hanging from midair controlling his movements. After victoriously stepping out of his bed, Sirius was amazed to find Remus bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He was coming back from the washroom, showered, dried, and was already wearing the new day's clothes… except for his shirt. Remus was still wearing his pajama shirt that Sirius had given him a year previous. With white lettering on a black background, it read: "My bite is worse than my bark."

"Brilliant shirt there, Moony," Sirius snickered.

"Shut it," Remus said, opposite of his words, cheerfully. He turned his back on Sirius to get a clean sweater from his trunk. While Remus stood, shirtless, searching for his black sweater (Sirius had tried to scrape off the slime with that particular sweater last night), Sirius spotted the marks on his friend's back. There were still the faint claw marks and the dull yellow bruises, shaped like a hoof. This triggered something in Sirius's mind. With rapid speed, he went from thinking about werewolves, to full moons, to the Shrieking Shack, to yesterday's trip to that bloody house… to Hermione.

"So… Did you have… er—a good time yesterday?" asked Sirius slowly, biting back his accusations and anger. He leaned against the post of his bed, the wooden boards directing his movement.

Remus let out a frustrated growl, but not to Sirius. "Where's my black sweater?" Casting his eyes around the room (James's and Sirius's side was the messiest), he spotted it crumpled next to James's bed. It had an odd stench seeping from its deeply folded layers. Sighing, Remus went back to his trunk and pulled out a navy-blue sweater. He pulled it over his head, causing his hair to become charged with static. He hurriedly patted his light brown locks. "Yesterday? You mean at Hogsmeade?" Sirius nodded. "…It was great. Possibly one of the best visits in a long time."

Sirius tried to hold back his growl, and ended making a gurgling sound in the back of his throat.

"What was that?" Remus asked absentmindedly, slipping a pair of wool socks over his frozen feet.

"Hm? Oh, I was just thinking about that trip to the Shrieking Shack that Evans dragged us off to," Sirius said, feigning a nonchalant air. He scratched the back of his neck to add to the effect.

"You know, I didn't mind it so much that time," said Remus after a long pause. One look at Remus's dreamily-dazed face, and Sirius couldn't hold himself back for much longer.

"Who would with Hermione draped all over them," Sirius muttered crossly.

Remus's head poked up, peaked with interest. "Dost my ears deceive me?" he said with an unfitting smirk. "Is wee little Siri jealous?"

"Of what?" snapped Sirius.

Remus stood up and set a penetrating stare into his friend's pale-grey eyes. "You tell me."

"I. Asked. You." Sirius's face was stonily set. Each boy were so set into this deep staring contest that neither of them noticed that Harry had just woken up, from the sounds of a yawn and the rustling of bed sheets.

Remus just laughed. "Afraid that she might have feelings for yours truly?"

Sirius scoffed. "Don't get cocky. She just felt bad for you."

Amazingly enough, Remus kept his cool. "You keep telling yourself that."

"Telling myself?" Sirius repeated, outraged. "You've got it all wrong! She pities you. Yes, you being the werewolf for all your life. But me, she fancies me! She said to me, during that trip to Hogsmeade, that—" But what Hermione had said, Remus did not find out. Sirius was raising his voice too loudly, ending with the final Marauder waking up.

"Ooooh… I'm gonna kill you two," issued a sort of mumble from James's bed. The sound of flesh being stretched like rubber was audible during that moment of silence: James's nose had grown four inches. The curtains billowed for a moment, from movement inside, before James burst through. He glared around, bleary-eyed, partially from lack of eyeglasses, but mostly from being awakened at an hour which did not agree with him so well. He blindly searched around his nightstand table for his specs. Apparently, he hadn't noticed his nose yet, even as he slipped on his black frames. "What time is it?" James growled towards Remus.

Harry popped his head from his curtains, also. Opposite of James, his eyes were wide-eyed and already framed with his specs. He had a dead stare aimed straight at Sirius and Remus. He had heard their argument over Hermione. He slowly stepped out of bed.

Remus looked away from Sirius furious face to the face of his watch. "Almost noon," he informed James.

"Mmmm, breakfast," James slurred.

"Lunch," whispered Harry. Although, his eyes never wavered away from Remus and Sirius.

"Mmmm, lunch." James pulled on a clean pair of pants and semi-clean sweatshirt. Without another word he strolled forward, stumbling into his shoes and left the room, never noticing his lengthy nose.

Remus and Sirius shot each other a deadened look, which plainly spoke "We're not finished yet." They took a step towards the door, Sirius's joints creaking aloud. But Harry intervened them, blocking their exit. Oddly, his face was as grave as the other two's were. Sirius was about to snap a witty remark when Harry hit him with a deadly silencing glare.

"I want to get something straight with you two." Harry's voice held no form of jest or fooling, not even a friendly tone. "Hermione. You need to stay away from her. No, I'm serious," Harry said at Sirius's eye roll. "You cannot have feelings for her. But, more importantly, she cannot have feelings for you. Either of you. When we go back to our time, it could change my entire future, of Hermione's. You wouldn't want to be responsible for sending us to a different timeframe, would you?"

"But what about right now?" interrupted Sirius. "She deserves someone, especially when she's away from her usual life. Let her make her own choice. Who are you to dictate her life?"

"I am a friend," Harry said abruptly. He began to advance towards Remus and Sirius. They stepped backwards, Sirius stumbling over his marionette strings. "I'm a friend who is looking out for her. A friend who doesn't want to see her get hurt."

"Harry, you know we would never hurt her," Remus started weakly, seeing as Harry had taken a breath.

"On purpose," Harry corrected. He sighed, and with his outtake of breath, all his deep fury and hostility left his face, body, and voice. He took a step back from Remus and Sirius and said weakly with a pleading tone, "Just… be careful." Casting his eyes to his left shoe, Harry nodded once, and left straight away. Remus and Sirius said not a word but avoided eye contact as they followed Harry and James to lunch.

* * *

"I have an announcement to make… Attention!" 

Headmaster Dumbledore clicked his wand to his goblet. For the students who were already looking at him, they spotted his drink inside that particular goblet suddenly burst into a kind of fire-smoke before it diffused into the air. Dumbledore smiled, peered into the goblet, chortled, and gazed back to his one hundred and forty-two students. They students who noticed his actions chuckled, too.

The Great Hall had indeed changed for the holidays. All the House tables were shortened a great deal to make room for the colossal Christmas trees lining the walls, and one off-center near the door. They were set aglow with faerie lights and ornaments of all colours, each topped with a golden star. The number of students, indeed, had been reduced. Instead of the usual one thousand students, only one hundred and forty-two occupied the four House tables. As Lily had said, the noise level had died down a considerable amount.

"I was informed yesterday evening that a teacher had been injured by two students sliding down on of Hogwart's stair banisters." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled over to the Marauders innocently sitting in the middle of the Gryffindor table. James and Sirius snickered. "It seems that Professor Smirch had sprained her wrist over this accident. So therefore, I am forced to decree a new Hogwart's rule:" (he sighed with a slight upturn on his lips) "There will be no more stair-rail sliding permitted here. Thank you." The Headmaster returned to his seat.

Most of the Hogwarts students had already guessed that it was the Marauders, and turned their heads towards the Gryffindor table. James and Sirius stood up from their seats and called out "Thank you. Thank you!" All their classmates (not belonging to Slytherin, of course) let a chorus of laughter; some even clapped their hands. Sirius, loving the attention, exclaimed, "I'd like to note that this is the four hundred and forty-second rule changed by the Marauders. Thank you!" Before he could add in another word to his beloved audience, Remus, sitting beside his friend while shaking his head, yanked Sirius down back to his seat. Nearby Gryffindors laughed.

"Thank you, Mr. Black," Dumbledore said politely. Turning to the rest of his pupils, he stated with his wrinkled smile, "Dig in."

Food appeared on the serving dishes. As Harry helped himself to some of the meat pie, he looked questionably at the Marauders. "You've changed four hundred and forty-two of Hogwart's rules?"

Saumya, sitting next to Lily (sitting across from James), added, "There are more than four hundred and forty-two school rules?"

James feigned a shocked air. "Of course there are! The Marauders' plan is to have some part in at least half of the school rules here by the end of our seventh year." He smiled smugly into his bangers and potatoes.

"And how many more do you have to 'affect'?" Harry asked.

"Around forty-nine, if the rate stays the same," answered James.

"Rate?" said Saumya.

"Yeah, if no one else changes school-rules along with us, we should have our goal be accomplished by the middle of next year," said James with a business-like air.

"What would you say was your most productive making-new-rules year?" questioned Harry. No one had ever mentioned all the rules at Hogwarts the Marauders had changed, so why not learn about it first hand?

James pondered on this one. After his mouthful of potatoes, he mumbled out, "Probably third year." He swallowed. "Because we finally had the ability and the publicity (not to mention the name 'Marauders'). We knew enough spells and we were finally all really close friends by then." Meaning that they knew and had accepted Remus's lycanthropy, Sirius and James were the closest of friends (No fights about families, as had happened in their first year), and Peter was finally part of the gang.

Hermione didn't feel the need to be part of the conversation, so she began to fiddle with something on her lap. It was Remus's battered jacket that he had lent her the previous day at Hogsmeade. She had planned to return it to him yesterday, but she felt she needed time to mull things over. And just when she thought she had made up her mind, and to keep it until he asked for it, she found herself carrying it to the Great Hall during lunch.

Across the table from Hermione was Remus. He, too, was not at all interested at hearing of the Marauders' past achievements, so he set his gaze upon his food, and on Hermione. He noticed her fidgeting and quietly asked her what was on her mind.

She looked up, adding the sparkle into her eyes once more. "I just wanted to thank you for lending me your jacket yesterday," she found herself saying. Even more surprising was when she handed over the table Remus's jacket. She gave him a smile. Even more, she knew it was the right thing to do. She just couldn't put her finger on the reason, though.

Remus, wide-eyed, took the jacket and laid it on the bench beside him. He watched as Hermione began to cheerfully eat her food. _This doesn't mean anything_, Remus's mind said at once. _It just means that she wanted me to have my jacket again… Of course_. So why was there a part of his brain nagging at him? It was screaming a name. A name…

Sirius watched the short scene between Hermione and Remus from a slight distance away. His face broke into a grin as he watched Hermione brightly eating away at her food. She must have sensed his gaze, for she turned her shining face towards his. Her lips upturned before returning to her lunch. Sirius knew this had to mean something, Hermione returning Remus's jacket. But then again, wearing-a-boy's-jacket-which-could-stand-for-a-relationship was just used in books and stories, wasn't it?

"Oy! Siri! Pass the salt," said James loudly from beside Sirius. He was waving his hand in front of Sirius's face to grab his friend's attention. Sirius snapped out of his thoughts and winced at his friend's booming voice in his ear.

"All right, all right… Hold your Hippogriffs," grumbled Sirius. With a jerky movement, he snagged the pepper that lay next to the salt and shoved it into James's impatient hand.

James looked down at the pepper, releasing a heavy sigh. He closed his hand into a fist and knocked against Sirius's head as if it were a door, and waved the unwanted pepper in front of his friend's face. "Hello? Sergeant Pepper? I don't care about your lonely heart right now. All I care about _is getting some salt!_ Think and space out on your own time, won't you?"

Sirius growled, pushed the pepper over to James. "Funny, I thought this was my own time… Apparently not; all time revolves around James Potter." He feigned a gracious bow, smiling the entire time.

"And what else would it revolve around?" James added with a wink.

Lily rolled her eyes in such an obvious way that James could hardly fail to notice. He opened his mouth to comment, but at the last moment (and after a sharp jab in the ribs from Sirius) he remembered that she was the cure to his Pinocchio Curse. Therefore, he shut his mouth and gave Lily a sarcastic smile. She mirrored him and returned to her meal.

* * *

James and Sirius were meandering down the corridors later that day after dinner, seeking for something mischievous to do. Remus and Harry were in a heated game of wizard chess, for they had been going at it for almost an hour. Lily and Hermione were in the library reading up on some boring fact that caused no interest to arise inside the two wandering Marauders. So then James and Sirius strutted down the halls, laughing their heads off at past pranks, but were also keeping an eye out for teachers or Slytherins. 

Moments later, a horde of Slytherins came out of the corridor to the left of James and Sirius and started to walk in front of them. None of them noticed the Gryffindors, which gave James and Sirius an advantage. Grinning at each other wickedly, both boys got ready for the battle. James sent a tiny Shock Spell aimed at the bottom of a Slytherin who turned out to be a fifth year named Lars Tornqvist. He jumped in mid step.

"What the hell was that?" James heard him say. The dumbfounded Slytherin looked wildly around until his eyes came to a rest on James and Sirius. "What did you two do?" Tornqvist growled stupidly. To say simply, Lars Tornqvist was big and stupid.

James stared with round doe-eyes behind his spectacles. "Do? We didn't do anything, did we, Padfoot?"

"No, I don't think we did, ole Prongs," said Sirius, although his smirk gave it away.

Another Slytherin, this time a girl who looked as if she had run head first into a solid wall, spoke. "You boys need to learn your manners. I think we'll be the ones to teach you. _Sliticus!_"

A hot jet of blood-red light came forth from her wand and slashed James across his chest. He looked down at the blood seeping through his white school shirt. Wincing, he lifted his arm, tapped his own wand against his stomach, and the wound and blood disappeared, though it seemed as if it were a painful process. As James started to breathe heavy, Sirius turned his gaze back to the Slytherins, the hate and fury burning brightly in his grey eyes. They were snickering. Without giving them a chance to prepare, Sirius struck the front row of the gang with a Bat Bogey Hex. They all shrieked as the gross, yellow-green goo flew across the corridor and straight onto their faces. They retaliated with a round of consecutive spells, each causing a spasm of pain in the two Gryffindors.

"Why don't we keep this light and friendly, hm?" jested Sirius as he ducked a violent violet jet of magic. With a flick of his wand, two of the Slytherins had been transformed into soft, fluffy kittens.

"Meow!" And the kittens scampered away.

"Light? You say you want this battle light?" a Slytherin named Wilkes shouted out about the mayhem. "All right, wish granted." Moments later, in place of where a masculine James was a very feminine looking James. They had transfigured his clothes into a "Little Bo Peep" costume. Through the laughter rang another spell: "_Tarantallegra!_"

If James in a dress made the Slytherins laugh, it was nothing compared to what played before their eyes next. James, hit with the dancing curse, started to flail about uncontrollably. Sirius tried to move out of James's way, but his marionette strings altered his agility. And James danced right into Sirius's puppet strings, entangling both of them.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_" said Wilkes with a grin. The spell lifted the disheveled Gryffindors up higher and higher until the top of Sirius's marionette bars were level with a torch hanging on the wall. Then they dropped, and the strings became hooked on the torch holder. James and Sirius were hanging fourteen feet above the pack of Slytherins. Sirius let out a bark and a whine of pain.

"I think we should just leave them there, don't you?" Wilkes asked a girl beside him. "Adds to the décor, doesn't it?" After reviving and returning their friends back to their original states, the mass of students clad in green left the scene howling away.

Both Sirius and James turned their heads to look at each other.

"You win some, you lose some," Sirius said almost apologetically.

"Shut it," James said moodily. Minutes later, he said, "This position is _really_ uncomfortable." The strings were wrapped around his wrists, waist, and upper legs, and that was all that was suspending him. So, to say at the very least, the circulation in all his limbs was cut off. Not to mention that he was still wearing a dress, and passersby below, if in the right position, could see his frilly knickers.

"You're telling me!" growled Sirius. "These strings are connected to my skin! And you're not a light lad to hold up, you know." Again, they had a long pause during which they tried to get out of the sticky situation. Magic wouldn't unhook them, as they found out. Through his panting, Sirius groaned, "That's it! I'm cutting off your supplies of pumpkin pasties!"

James was about to retaliate when someone came walking down the corridor. He was about to call out for help when he saw who it was. Sneaking down the hall, keeping to the shadows, was a pale, greasy haired boy with a green and silver scarf wrapped around his neck. His hooked nose protruded into the light as he inched along the corridor.

Snape had heard voices, and slowed his pace. Seeing no one in the corridor, he walked normally again, that is, until he caught sight of the two Gryffindors hanging on the wall. Then he burst into silent gales of laughter, almost falling on the floor.

"Keep walking, Mime," spat James.

Snape looked up, wiping a tear from his whole-hearted laughter. He spent a few more moments laughing at James and Sirius before he stuck his hands in his pockets and started to shuffle away with an obnoxiously content grin on his face. Before he was completely out of range, Sirius took his wand and sent a Trip Jinx to the Slytherin's feet. Snape stumbled, shot one last glare at Sirius and James, and continued to walk out of sight.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck up here?" asked Sirius, his tone blasé.

James looked at his friend to answer his friend, but was sidetracked by something else. "Hey Padfoot… Did you notice that you have a bunch of purple ribbons in your hair?"

Sirius inched his hand up to his head, patted his hair, and closed his eyes as if in great pain. "I have come to the conclusion that I hate Slytherins."

"No kidding."

Both boys were hanging up there for a few minutes before they tried again to untangle themselves. James tried to slide out from the painful grip of the strings, but ended in a worse position. "It's a good thing we're really close friends," huffed James, "or else this would be incredibly embarrassing and quite uncomfortable position."

"Don't think that I prefer your head down there, Prongs," snapped Sirius. "'Cause it ain't no walk in the park for me right now, either."

And, much to the dismay of the two Marauders, the situation got worse. They were unfortunately hanging in a common corridor; many people passed by and had to add a witty comment, never helping the two mischief-makers. One time, a large group of first year boys walked past and gawked at James and Sirius. One even dared to whisper to his friend, "I've never seen gay guys in action before." As they walked away, Sirius yanked out one of his ribbons and threw it at the head of that kid.

Another group of seventh year Hufflepuffs walked past, some whistled at the sight of James. One even conjured up a bouquet of flowers and levitated them up to James, pretending to blush furiously. This time it was James's turn to throw something at them as they left: his flowers.

The next group of students to walk past consisted of three sixth year girls, Hermione being among them. Katie from Ravenclaw and Novia from Gryffindor were the other two girls, and were so deep into their conversation that they didn't notice James and Sirius. Hermione, though, looked up and spotted them right as the girls passed the two boys. She gawked and was about to make a remark, but Katie pulled her along the corridor, never seeing the two helpless boys.

"I can't believe she didn't say anything," said Sirius, sounding far more hurt than angry.

"Well, maybe she isn't suppose to change _anything_ while she's here," said James lightheartedly. "Maybe this moment is pivotal in our life." His tone grew more serious, though it was had to tell if he was joking or not. "This might affect everything in our lives later on. It could spell out what's going to happen to the rest of our lives."

Sirius stayed silent. "So you're coming out, eh?…. I always thought you liked girls, though, Prongs."

"What?" James asked dumbly. "I do—" Realization hit him. "EW! That's just gross, Sirius!"

"Eh heh, just had to lighten the mood," Sirius said with a shrug. "Anyways, I need something to keep my mind off the pain."

"Ahem."

Sirius and James looked down. Professor McGonagall was standing almost right underneath them.

"_What_ are you two doing?" she snapped.

"Er—just hanging around," said Sirius with a slight smile.

"Clearly." McGonagall massaged her temples. "I don't think I even want to know how you two came into this position. Am I right in saying that this is the outcome of a fight you two started with a group of Slytherins?"

"We never started anything!" James shouted indignantly. His nose began to grow.

"Potter… why is your nose four inches long?" asked McGonagall slowly, as if dreading the answer.

"Ole Snivellus hit us with a curse yesterday that has similar qualities to the factors of Pinocchio the Marionette who wanted to become a real boy," James said, growing tired of this story. His nose grew back to normal length. "This curse has forced my nose to grow every time I tell a lie, and my counterpart here has the physical appearance of a marionette. And we are stuck in this painful position, have been for quite some time, and would like to get out of it very soon."

"_Finite Incantatem_," snapped McGonagall, flicking her wand. Nothing happened.

"Oh, right," James said. "Snape also made sure that Lily Evans was the only person that could remove the curse off of us." McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "It's true. See? My nose isn't growing." His nose stayed the same length as he pointed to it with his finger.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_," she sighed, and James and Sirius floated down peacefully. Sirius collapsed on the ground and started to nurse his poor joints. James, on the other hand, was ready to bolt away from McGonagall. "Before you two scamper off," said Professor McGonagall at once, reading James's mind, "I am to remind you two that you both have an appointment with Professor Smirch after dinner from your little incident yesterday on the stairs." Pausing to look at her watch, she continued. "You are both late as of ……. right now."

"Bloody hell!" James started to run down a set of stairs to the dungeons. Sirius let the Pinocchio magic pull him onto his feet, but he winced anyways He also tried to run, but tripped over one of the puppet strings, and ended up tumbling down the flight of stairs.

McGonagall, once again, rubbed her forehead. "And they are two of the brightest students I've seen in years… What is Hogwarts coming to?"

* * *

It rained later that night.

* * *

(A/N: All of thefollowing scenes take place at roughly the same time.) 

The next day, Lily was walking back to Gryffindor Tower alone. Lunch had ended a few hours ago, yet there were still a few hours left until dinnertime. Hermione asked to be alone in the library as she did some research. Sure, Lily was a tad bit hurt that her friend was hiding something from her, but being a respectful friend, Lily left. To clear her mind, she decided to curl up next to the fire and quietly read one of her favourite Muggle books: _The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring_.

Lily entered the common room. Her plan was to walk up the back stairs, retrieve her book from her dormitory, come back and read by herself. Intervening with her strategy was a tiny factor: a tall, jet-black haired, and bespectacled boy that stood up from his spot on the floor by the fire at Lily's entrance. Lily and James looked at each other for a moment. Lily abruptly turned away from James and made towards the portrait hole again, trying for a quick exit.

"Wait!" James called out weakly. He had been sitting on the floor by the fireplace, mulling things over in his mind. At first, he was cursing his Pinocchio Curse, but found it could help him out. As he was thinking that, Lily had entered. _It's about time I spoke my thoughts_, thought James as Lily spotted him. _And use this curse to my advantage…_ Lily stopped, mid-stride, though she didn't turn to face him. James let out a feeble chuckle. "Do I really smell that bad?"

Lily groaned as she spun on her heel. "Is there anything you want, Potter? Or do we have to get into another row? Because, you know what? I don't feel like arguing right now."

"Then don't," said James automatically.

"Good. I'm glad we agree on that." Lily started towards the hole again.

"Lily Evans… you are the most beautiful girl I have ever met."

She stopped, paused, and looked at James. He was standing there, plain as day, waiting for her reaction. She gave him the indication signaling that she was completely confused. James chuckled.

"I'd love to snog Peeves," lied James. His nose grew. As it lengthened, understanding reached Lily's eyes. What he had said at first was completely true to him, and it brought a twinkle to Lily's eyes. James smiled and continued.

"But, seriously, you are—amazing," said James softly. (His nose grew back to normal.) "Your hair by itself is a miracle," he started out, giving a little chuckle. "The way it moves and bounces with each of your steps. And your eyes. Oh, don't get me started on those emeralds shining through your face. It is as if an angel touched your eyes with her sparkling wand."

Lily smiled. "James, angels don't have wands."

But James's face never faltered. "And that is what makes your eyes so special…And it's not just your looks, but your personality, your essence that makes you perfect." Slowly, as he purred all of this truth out of him, Lily glided little by little across the room to a chair to sit in, and she chose one near James. "The way you hold yourself every passing day just shows how strong and bold you are, emotionally and physically. And seeing you everyday, walking your gorgeous walk or talking that entrancing talk, yeah, sure, it makes me want to snog you senseless—_but_," James said before Lily had a chance to roll her eyes, "more importantly, it makes me just want to stand at your side. Just to talk with you would make me happier than you can imagine."

Both teenagers smiled warmly, almost shyly, at each other. James stared into Lily's bright, captivating eyes. To the surprise of James, he found them staring right back into his own, with no hint of anger, annoyance, or concealment. Cocking her head to a side and giving a silent chortle, Lily asked tenderly, "You have become quite the gentleman, James."

James's grin grew wider.

* * *

Harry was speeding down the halls of Hogwarts in search of a bushy-haired girl. While looking in classrooms and other corridors, he was blathering quietly to himself: "What was that girl thinking? She must be out of her mind! Crazy loon…" And this went on and on in Harry's mind after he had found out what Hermione had done the previous night. 

Flashback-

Harry and Lily were walking through the halls later that night. They were both discussing their theories on how no one at Hogwarts became completely overweight with all the food they eat. They were laughing all the way back to the common room and were still chuckling as they stepped through the portrait hole. But as Harry spotted the scene inside the common room, his laughter stopped dead.

Sirius and Hermione were sitting on the couch, facing away from the fire. Only their heads were showing, and both had a face and grin of a child. Sirius's wand was also dangling over the edge of the couch, and it was aimed at an innocent first year sitting across the common room. The little boy was trying to write something down on his piece of parchment in front of him, but it kept on flying out of his reach, or fell to the floor every time he went to touch it. Harry looked back at Sirius and Hermione. They were both snickering. Harry did a double-take. Hermione was laughing… at someone playing a trick on someone else. That was not Hermione at all.

"_Finite_," said Lily boldly, casting the spell to the little boy's paper. He looked up at her and blushed, giving a meek "Thank you." Lily smiled at him, then glared at Sirius, whose head disappeared behind the back of the couch, though the marionette boards hanging over his head were still visible. Hermione let out a high-pitched giggle; Lily raised her eyebrows at her friend, who, too, shrank under Lily's gaze. The prefect girl just rolled her eyes and said her good-bye to Harry. Before Harry could storm over to Sirius and Hermione (who were still hiding behind the couch, doing God knows what) and after Lily left, Sirius called out to Harry, "Prongs wanted to see you upstairs, Thewler." Harry left with a glare.

End Flashback-

"It wasn't even that funny of a prank!" growled Harry. Letting out a frustrated howl, he turned another corner.

* * *

Hermione had been walking back from the library with a several novels in her arms. She had checked out a few books on time-travelling that she hadn't read during her summer before her third year: _The Time-Trekker's Guide to Eternity (It's OK to Panic Because You Can Change Your Mind Later) _By Adam Douglas; _How To Master the Art of Do-Overs (Recommended by the author of _Zen and the Art of Time-Machine Maintenance); and _The Joy of Time-Travel: How to Finish Before You Even Start _By Procas T. Nator. As Hermione passed a window, she stopped and gazed outside. 

The rain had cleared up from the night before and left the grounds sparkling with dew. The grounds themselves seemed particularly muddy, though, and the lake was filled to the brim. However, the sky was clear and the sun was faintly shining, although there were a few cool wisps of clouds looming from a distance. While Hermione was enjoying the view, she felt someone step up beside her.

"It looks clear outside, doesn't it?" Hermione asked Remus, her eyes never wavering from the scene outside. "I mean, it's just that yesterday it was all cloudy and filled with fog… but now it's gone."

Remus cast his eyes away from Hermione, and with a puzzled air, he stared out the window. He noticed the few wisps of fog hovering over the lake and the bottom of the mountains. "I'm not so sure… It doesn't seem clear enough to be called crystal."

"Well, I can see things clearly out there," said Hermione stubbornly.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Remus softly. "It may seem like it at first, but once the wind moves the fog, you might see something else."

"And what will I see, then?" Hermione turned her gaze from the window to give Remus a warning yet uncertain look. He stared right back at her, his eyes set with apprehension and determination.

* * *

_It is here. Finally I have my chance to show him and teach him a lesson he won't forget any time soon. I shall leave my mark upon him and I won't let him forget it. …Ah, vengeance is sweet, oh so sweet. I will ridicule him with this until the end of his days… as soon as I can speak—_

"SNIVELLUS! You put me back inside RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

"Or else what? What are you going to do, act like a puppet for us?"

Regulus Black and Severus Snape were standing at the window of one of Hogwart's highest towers. Both were snickering, though Snape's was silent because the Mime Hex that James and Sirius had bestowed upon the Slytherin was still in play. Snape and Regulus were combining their efforts to hold a particularly heavy object outside the window so it would dangle in the wind: Sirius Black the Marionette.

"Put me back inside!" growled Sirius again.

"You know, I don't think we will," sneered Regulus, twirling Sirius's wand in his hands.

"But, Regulus, what did I ever do to you?" asked Sirius, trying a new approach instead of yelling. "We're brothers, aren't we? You wouldn't want to cause your own brother this much pain, would you?"

Regulus faltered, his grip tightened on the wooden planks holding Sirius up. His face then became set as he glanced at Snape. "You're not my brother anymore, are you? Not since Mother disowned you."

Sirius's face became cold again, though neither of the Slytherins could see it. "Let's get something straight, pipsqueak. I left Mother. I left Father. I left the Blacks. No one disowns a Black unless it's me, and I had had enough of all that rot you speak of."

"And look where's it has lead you," snarled Regulus. He gave a tug on the marionette strings. "You are continuously fighting with family and people who were once your friends. Your friends you have now are a joke. You're even pathetically chasing after some Mudblood freak. Mother's is right, you are just a pathetic, lost boy who's going to fail miserably at life."

Sirius let himself grin through all his brother's prattle. "At least I'm still not a mama's-boy."

* * *

James and Lily were both sitting by the crackling fire place. They had been staring deeply, almost lovingly, at each other for what seemed like eternity. Every now and then James would break the silence with another incredibly romantic comment about Lily. She would sit their silently taking in all the wonderful things saying about her. Also, gazing at James, she would try to fit all the emotions that were flying like mad around her head into one category. 

"The way you always have a sense of right and responsibility, and you stay loyal to your beliefs, it's amazing that all the guys aren't all over you. What astounds me even more than that is the fact that you always act on your values with such a courageous attitude."

"And you see all this inside me?" Lily asked quietly. "Even after I yell at you and treat you like the dirt beneath my feet?" She had to look away from James.

James smiled. "Of course I see all this. I deserved every single insult you have given me over the past six years." His nose grew four inches longer. "Well, there was one time where it really was Snape's fault," (his nose shrank to normal size) "but I'll not get into that right now. I just wanted you to know because… I think you underestimate how truly remarkable you really are."

Lily looked back at James. He was surprised to find that tears had started to form in her shining green eyes. James hesitated, but started to inch his hand towards her smooth face. She looked warily at his large hands, but put down her defenses. He wiped away her tears.

Sniffing, Lily managed to say, "You, yourself, James, are a pretty nice, and quite unpredictable guy." She reached forward and ruffled his hair with a lopsided grin on her face, which spread onto James's face at her touch. Giving one last sniff, she reclaimed herself, hoping that the tears would end. "But I don't want you always using this curse just to get on my good side. That wouldn't be fair now, would it?" James smiled. Lily pulled out her wand and tapped James on the head. "So…_Finite Incantatem!_"

* * *

In the middle of Snape and Regulus's taunts aimed at Sirius, they suddenly found the weight extremely light. They both looked out the window to see Sirius falling down the side of the tower. Both Slytherins shrugged, acted as if nothing had happened, and rushed away from the scene of the crime at top speed.

* * *

"I've got no strings, to hold me down, an actors life for me! Whee!" sang Sirius as he raced towards the ground. Something hit him, though not the ground (not yet). How was he going to stop himself from crashing into the ground… if Regulus still had his, Sirius's, wand?

* * *

"I think I can see things perfectly, Remus, thank you very much," snapped Hermione. "For once, I think that things are being to become clear." 

"What is it that you're trying to say, Hermione?" growled Remus, frustrated with her metaphoric talk, which is what he assumed it to be. He stepped away from her side and stood right in front of her, between her and the window. "Look. I can tell that you aren't interested in the weather… Is there something on your mind that you'd like to straight out say?"

"Sirius!" Hermione squealed.

"Ah ha!" said Remus victoriously. "I knew it!"

"No," Hermione said exasperatingly. "Sirius is falling down the tower outside!" She pushed Remus from in front of her and ran to the window. It was true. Sirius was diving straight towards the muddy ground. She whipped out her wand and….

* * *

"I've got no strings to hold me down… but I wish I had them now… Oh, ouch!" whined Sirius. He was sprawled out in a large pile of mud, his leg in an odd position that told him it was broken. That, and the fact that he was in excruciating pain. He had felt, though, a half-second before he hit the ground, a form of magic tug on him. _It didn't help much, now, did it?_

"Oh my gosh! Sirius! Are you okay?" Hermione cried out as she came running towards the limp Sirius. Remus was a while away, jogging behind her and looking worried. Hermione slid down in the mud right next to Sirius. "Are you all right?" she asked tenderly.

Sirius smiled. "I'm all right."

"Oh, no you're not," said Hermione, casting a look at his leg.

"Oh, that?" Sirius prodded his lifeless leg. "Yeah, that's pretty bad. But other than that, I'm fine. I'm just glad you're here."

Remus finally reached Sirius. "How're you doing, mate?" he asked, a crease between his eyebrows.

"I'm right chuffed," Sirius said sarcastically with his usual smile. "I think I broke my leg. I'm freezing in this damn cool mud…. And I think I just ruined my hair." He lifted his mud-coated hand to his hair. "Yes, it's full of mud and flobberworms." He pulled out a handful of just that. "Gross." Looking up to his friends with pathetic and pained eyes, he asked meekly, "You think you could help me up to Madam Pomfrey's?"

"Come on," Remus said, holding out his hand. Sirius took hold as Hermione grabbed him around the waist. Together, Remus and Hermione dragged Sirius all the way up to the Hospital Wing.

* * *

"Why couldn't the Marauders have invented their Map _after_ we got here?" whined Harry. He was tired of looking for Hermione and tired of walking around Hogwarts nattering like a mental patient. He rounded another corner to hear some more voices. Recognizing one of them, Harry ran ahead to confirm his thoughts. 

"Come on, Sirius, don't pass out on us. We're almost there," Hermione kept on repeating as she and Remus helped Sirius. She would slap Sirius lightly in the face to keep him awake. "How much farther are we?" she panted to Remus.

Remus nodded his head forward. At the end of the corridor was the Hospital Wing.

"What happened?" asked Harry, running up to his friends.

"Sirius here fell from God knows how far up a tower, and we saved him in the nick of time," Remus explained, regaining his breath.

"It looks as if he broke his leg, though," added Hermione. Harry noticed she was holding onto Sirius quite tightly and in an almost possessive manner.

"What if a whale just popped into existence and started to fall from the sky… Would it want to be friends with the ground?" mumbled Sirius. "Or a pot of petunias…"

"Er—Siri? Petunias and whales don't have minds to think that," Hermione said slowly. "Ah ha! We're here. Madam Pomfrey. Madam Pomfrey!" A young nurse came bustling out of her office a second later. "Sirius just fell from the top of a tower and we think he hit his head and broke his leg."

"Bring him in immediately," snapped Pomfrey.

Before anyone could do anything, Sirius lifted up his head, looked at Remus and said, "You pretty, but not as pretty as her." He looked at Hermione, smiled, and fell unconscious.

"Good," said Pomfrey. "It's better and easier to deal with him when he's out. Come on!" she said to Remus and Hermione. "Bring him in."

Remus and Hermione struggled to lift him onto a bed in the corner. Hermione waited outside the curtain drawn around Sirius's bed while Harry and Remus helped Sirius into some pajamas Madam Pomfrey lent him. Hermione was talking to the nurse while waiting.

"Is he going to have to stay the night?" she asked.

"Yes, I believe so, since it's already late in the night. Might as well," Madam Pomfrey said. "Are you two done yet?"

The curtains drew back and Sirius was still unconscious, but now in a pair of red and white striped pajamas. Madam Pomfrey bustled in with a potion in her hand. "Now I want you three out of here. Now!" Remus and Harry scuttled out of the room at once. Hermione lightly took Sirius's hand and kissed it before hurrying after them.

* * *

That night, Sirius dreamed that the Earth had been made by mice, and forty-two was the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. It was a bizarre dream, indeed.

* * *

A/N: So… I bet you all are just dying to find out my perfectly good excuse, eh? Well, I guess I'll start by saying I was completely sick during the middle of February, _which was also my birthday_ (which is another excuse). And :sniff: worst of all :sniff: my laptop broke down:cries eyeballs out: Yes, my faithful laptop (which I named Apocalypse) died on me half way through chapter 26. And you must understand that I type much better than I write with a pad and paper (though I had to resort to that for awhile). So I had to rewrite chapter 26 on an old laptop…. And that was more information than you all wanted to hear, wasn't it? I could've just said that things weren't working out…

So… onto that challenge I had at my last update. Billy Shears is Ringo Starr's almost alternate personality, but some people believe that he was Paul McCartney's double when he died (which he didn't). And Billy Shears is part of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (sang by the Beatles) and he "sings" With A Little Help From My Friends. Congrats:

**Lady Criquette**, **pieceocake**, **tynwfiel**, **Skittles**, and **Jenny H. Page**. You all receive 62,442 bonus points and 9 ¾ points. You can add those up if you like. I'm kinda in a rush now.

I would go and thank each and every one of you for reading and reviewing this story (not to mention putting up with me for this long), but I'm sure you all are just dying to read my story as soon as possible, so I won't. **THANK YOU VERY MUCH!**


	27. Chapter 27: James Speaks

I do not own anything that somebody else owns.

* * *

**Chapter 27: James Speaks**

_Just do it… he_ told himself repeatedly. _Just reach out and grab it… _Amazing how much more difficult it was to extend his arm twelve inches and touch her hand than to snatch a speeding Snitch from midair…

"James, are you all right?" asked Lily. "You look…odd."

To the surprise of passersby hurrying down the corridors, Lily and James had been ambling throughout all of Hogwarts the entire morning, which was Christmas Eve. Instead of James strutting through the halls, just begging for trouble, he had been quite civil and un-egotistical. He never ruffled his hair, nor talked about himself (too often). It was just a pleasant James and a once-shocked Lily, though it soon registered in her mind, strolling down the halls together, talking about nothing and everything.

Before James could answer Lily's comment, a greasy-haired boy walking towards the two interrupted their tranquil moment. Snape stopped abruptly at the sight of James. He pulled out his wand. James cast a sideways glance at Lily, then did nothing. Oddly, Snape said not a word, but started to wave his wand around in midair. Flames of green in the shapes of words appeared before their eyes:

Take this curse off now, Potter… You promised.

James allowed a smug smirk creep onto his face. However, Lily turned towards James and raised her eyebrows. Sighing, James pulled out his wand. _Hopefully, this'll get me extra Lily bonus points_, he thought downheartedly as he spoke the countercurse to Snape's Mime Hex. Snape sneered and cleared his throat, but not before Lily and James turned away from him and started to walk the opposite direction.

"I don't know which one to feel worse for, the Mudblood or Potter," snickered Snape as he walked up to the two Gryffindors.

Lily rounded on him while James stood completely still and rooted to the spot. "Is your life really that pathetic that you have to take it out on other people? Honestly…" shouted Lily, acting rather cool towards the Slytherin. His eyebrows rose so high that they disappeared behind his greasy bangs.

"Don't you usually save that anger for Potter?" Snape carried on with an amused face. Lily's eyes flickered over to James, who still hadn't reacted to Snape's speech, other than staying completely quiet. "Ah…" said Snape knowingly. "He's gotten to you, then? Tell me, Evans, did he whisper sweet, endearing words of love into your ear? Did he say that you were the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on? Well, I'll give you a hint, Evans. James can slither his way out of anything, can _lie_ his way out of anything…. Think about it." Snape started to walk past them, a malice grin across his face. It was then that James spoke.

"I want you to follow this rules in their exact order, _Snivellus_," said James callously, pronouncing ever word with a slow and purposeful air. He still hadn't turned around. "I want you to stick your head in a cold bucket of water ten times… and, doing us all a favour, pull it out only nine times."

"_Reducto_" yelled an infuriated Snape, pointing his wand at James's back. The magic slammed into the Marauder's back, causing him to fly through the air and crash into one of the corridor's walls. His chest made a sickening crunch as it made a painful contact with the wall.

Lily rounded on Snape, who was standing complacently with his arms folded over his chest. A fire burned in Lily's eyes. "What is your problem?" Snape eyes widened as Lily screeched. "You can't even take a verbal insult without having to resort to violence." She, surprising even herself, rushed over to James and helped him stand up. It seemed as if he had broken a rib bone. Glaring, the girl prefect looked at Snape one last time before they left, "And I'll take ten points from Slytherin for magic in the corridors."

* * *

"So, Prongs, how come you're mended in five minutes, and I had to stay the entire night?" asked Sirius, giving a pathetic pout. 

"I keep on telling you, Padfoot," said James, smiling, "I'm just more special than you are."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at his friend.

They were both sitting on opposite Hospital Wing beds. Sirius had been forced to stay over night while his leg was mending, because it was already so late in the night. James, on the other hand, had his ribcage broken in two places, and was mended within ten minutes, ready to go.

"I still say that you two are both nutters," commented Remus, who had just entered the wing. He leaned causally against a wall, shaking his head at the other two Marauders.

"Aw, did you miss me, ole Moony?" asked Sirius, his voice sounding oddly like a little girl's tone. "Were you lonely in the dormitory without me?"

Placidly, Remus took a pillow from a nearby bed, fluffed it up a bit, and chucked it at Sirius.

"I think that answers your question," Lily pointed out from beside James's bed. She had let James lean on her while she helped him to the Hospital Wing, and had decided to stay there. Part of her wished she hadn't, for being in the same room as the Marauders was dangerous to one's health and sanity.

Hermione walked through the doors of the Hospital Wing with a smile on her face, only to be replaced by a surprised look caused by the sight of Remus, James, and Lily. She hadn't expected them to be here, especially the latter of the three. "Lily! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"I broke my ribs," answered James before Lily had the chance to open her mouth. "So I needed help getting here."

"How did you manage to break your ribs?" Hermione asked.

"Long story involving Snivellus," sighed James. At his answer, Hermione cast her eyes over to Lily. The redhead held no sign of annoyance at his comment. "What are you doing here?" asked James, repeating Hermione's own words and directing them at her.

Hermione flushed. "I came to check on how Sirius was doing." Out of the corner of her eyes while she kept her focus on James's hair, Hermione saw Sirius's chest puff out.

James noticed this too. He also noticed Hermione's increasing blush. James frowned. "Er, Hermione? Can I have a word with you?" He paused. This was everyone else's clue to leave.

Lily got the hint at once. She mumbled something about Christmas decorations and sped out of the Hospital, glancing back at Hermione. Remus, too, understood, and turned to leave. But noticing that Sirius hadn't moved an inch, he spun around back to his friend.

"Let's get you out of here, Padfoot, before you burn someone else's bed, hm?" said Remus with a laugh.

"What can Prongsie say to Hermione that we can't hear?" asked Sirius stubbornly, though the effect was lost as his voice cracked. Lately it had been doing that…

"The list is endless," snapped Remus. "Now, come on, _Siri_. I'll recite it while we walk to the Great Hall." Sirius still didn't move. Remus's eyes flickered over to James and Hermione for a moment before settling back on Sirius. "Sirius. Let's go." His voice was stern and solid, as if a parent scolding a child. Sirius raised his eyebrows at James and Hermione as he left the Hospital Wing with Remus. "And don't you dare even think of cursing Snivellus on our way," came Remus's snap as they walked down the corridor.

Hermione stared after the two as they left before finally returning her gaze to James. "What is it, James?" she asked innocently. She waited.

James didn't know Hermione all that well, to say the truth. He didn't know much about her. Sure, he knew that she had a strong relationship with Harry and she was from the future. He also knew that she was book-smart and could hold her own. But that is basic stuff one could learn by looking at her. Interestingly enough, Hermione had a thing for Sirius… or was it Remus? And that is what he wanted to talk about.

"Hermione," started James, but he faltered. "Can I call you Mione?"

Hermione looked taken aback. "If you want…"

"Okay, then. _Mione_. As I'm sure you know, I have been friends with Sirius and Remus for quite a long time. Ever since the middle of our first year. Now, Sirius and I didn't get along at first because of our families. I'm sure you know that Sirius came from a… darker family, and my relatives were all chummy with Dumbledore. Finally, Remus knocked some sense into us, mostly because he was tired of our barking, but also because he could sense that out fighting was not in our hearts. Meaning, we were fighting because it was engraved on the inside of our heads to dislike each other… So, Mione, around Christmas of our second year, Remus, Peter, Sirius, and I were the closest group of friends, since we had just found out about Remus's… condition and had decided to… help him."

James stood up from his spot on his bed and started to stroll towards the door. Hermione followed him, peaked with interest. James continued. "By our third year, Mione, we had become the Marauders. Everyone in school knew our close-knit group. Each of the Marauders would cover the others' back. There were many times when Remus would whip up a story from thin air that would get us out of detention. Sirius would _ahem_ 'charm' his way out of trouble. Peter, well, Peter would say he tripped and would make anything look like an accident. I would just plain out wit my way through our predicaments."

"Must've been very nice," said Hermione, smiling.

"And it was," said James, ignoring her sarcastic chortle. "Now, Mione, you must understand that we are very loyal to each other. We always run to fend off any sort of thing that endangers any one of us, physically, mentally,… emotionally." Hermione knew where this was going, but decided not to interrupt. James stopped talking and walking, looking at Hermione. "Well? Aren't you going to interrupt?" obedient

Hermione looked a little shocked. "I was going to, but I decided to be polite."

James just laughed, and kept walking down the corridor. He wasn't really heading towards anywhere, just wandering. "You're a nice girl, Mione. Very nice…" he grumbled edgily. "Peter is the enthusiastic follower. I am the oh-so-talented one. Remus is the wicked smart one. And Sirius was always the 'charmer' (more like 'hexer' when it comes to Slytherins), or the lady's man… Now as I understand it, two of my best mates fancy you. And from what I've seen, you seem to fancy…one of them?" Hermione fidgeted. "Now, if the circumstances were different, I'd be more than willing to help you two together, no matter who it be. But since you aren't going to stay here for long…" James sighed. He stopped his footsteps again and turned to Hermione. She did the same. "Mione, I don't want to see my friends hurt more than is necessary. They've been through more things than they really should at their age. You can't leave them with a broken heart."

Hermione didn't know how to answer him. She was at a loss for words, which surprised her. For one reason, she was not used to being "lectured" by anyone, really. Hermione was usually the one that would go off on a tirade. Second reason: During every single inner battle Hermione held in her mind, she never really thought of all the repercussions, the impact her actions would have on the Sirius or Remus of _this_ time.

"Think this over, would you?" said James quietly, making sure not to startle Hermione, who looked hypnotized with a suit of armour across the hall. Hermione nodded numbly, blinked a few times, and regained focus once again. She looked upon him with expectancy. "Er—That's all I have to say on the subject." Again, Hermione nodded. They continued to walk, this time in silence.

After a while, Hermione began to speak. "Something has been buzzing in the back of my mind for the past few days. And since we're talking here… Has Harry told you anything about Lily?" She stared at him with the air of a businesswoman, her eyebrows slightly peaked with questioning.

"What do you mean?" asked James slowly, acting as if he was clueless.

Hermione just laughed. "Like father like son. Harry was never good at lying to me either."

James held himself like a father who was proud of his son before answering Hermione. "Well, Harry didn't tell me anything _exactly_. I sort of figured it out for myself. He just told me if I was right or wrong. In this case, I was right." He fidgeted all through his explanation. From what he had seen and heard, this girl standing next to him was quite the rule-follower. But Hermione didn't explode. Instead, she continued in a quite whisper.

"I assume we are talking about the same thing, right? About yours and Lily's marriage?"

James's eyes widened in surprise. "What?" he cried out, sounding flabbergasted. "OUR WHAT!"

Hermione's eyes widened, though hers was caused by shock. "You mean… you didn't know!" she asked hurriedly. "Oh my gosh… I just told you something that you shouldn't know… oh! What am I going to do?" She gasped for air for another rant, but was stopped by James's laughing.

"Wow, you really are a sucker for jokes," James managed to say through his gales of laughter. He wiped a tear from his eye. "Ah, that was good. Oh, don't give me that look. You should've seen your face—your eyes looked as if they'd pop right out of your face."

Hermione let out a miniscule chuckle, not feeling so amused. "That was _not_ funny."

"Lighten up, Mione," James said, nudging her. They started walking again.

"I'm sorry," she said moments later. "It's just that I'm really tense about this whole trip. It could be life-altering, couldn't it?" She let out a deep, solid breath of air. "I'm almost afraid to go back." She had only spoken her fears to Harry and Ron. Telling James this was a big step. But Harry was right: his father was a great guy.

James glanced sideways at her. He saw true worry in her eyes for the first time. To comfort her, he laid his arm over her shoulder and said soothingly, "It'll all be fine in the end. I promise."

He had no idea how much that promise hurt Hermione.

* * *

Sirius was jumping up and down in front of James, repeating, "So, Prongsie, did she say anything about me?" James shoved his friend aside so he could enter their dormitory. Sirius went in, trotting after his friend. "Huh? Huh? Huh? Did she? Did she? Did she?" He hovered around James like a hungry puppy while James was trying to retrieve a book from his side of the room. "Get out of it!" James growled. "And it's none of your business what we talked about." 

Sirius stopped. "Hm… something secret, then. …You didn't…. you wouldn't… set her against me, would you?" He looked carefully at his friend.

"Truthfully?" James asked, his desired book in his hand.

"I always hate it when people ask if they have the permission to be truthful," grumbled Sirius, though his voice kept cracking. After he coughed, he growled, "Of course!"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt, Padfoot. You or Moony." He walked past Sirius to the door. "I'll be with Thewler in the meantime—"

"What about Evans?" asked Sirius abruptly, all traces of his eager-like qualities gone. James stopped walking.

"What about her?" he asked slowly.

"What is going on between you two?" Sirius asked. "There is obviously something you did, or she did, that made her change her mind about you. I'm not blind, Potter." Using surnames told James that Sirius meant business.

"Well, you know how we finally got free of that Pinocchio Curse?" James said and his friend nodded. "That was because of me." Sirius raised his eyebrows. James sat down on a nearby bed. "I told Lily that day, while we were sitting by the fire, that she was the most beautiful girl I've ever met. I described every single detail about her that I admired. And since she could tell when I was lying because of my Pinocchio nose, she knew it was all true. By the time I finished… she had tears forming in her eyes. And it was when I was wiping those tears away… she took off the curse." He looked up at Sirius with a dazed grin. "So then after that, we just strolled through the corridors, just talking. Padfoot, it was one of the greatest moments in my entire life."

Sirius smiled. "Well, it's about time she realized you had some good in you. Took her long enough…"

James mumbled a "yeah" in agreement before walking towards the door. Before leaving, he turned to his friend with a grin. "You might want to ask Madam Pomfrey to clear up that throat of yours, seeing as it's jumping pitches like a toad." He ducked, narrowly missing a pillow Sirius had thrown at him. "See you later, Padfoot." He walked through the doorway.

"Yeah, later," James heard in reply as he walked down the stairs. He had a huge wave of guilt for not telling Sirius about the wedding James and Lily would have in the future. James couldn't keep something like that from the Marauders. It's not like they won't find out. They always managed to somehow…

* * *

An earsplitting yell: "THEWLER!" 

A not-amused hiss: "Shh!"

A singsong voice: "OOHHH THEWLER!"

An aggravated hiss: "_Shhh_"

An Old English female accent: "WHERE FOR ART THOU, THEWLER?"

"_Would you please shut up, Mr. Potter?_"

"Oh, Madam Pince. Sorry, didn't see you there."

"This is a library, Potter. I expect you to obey the rules."

James smiled cheekily at the librarian. "But I wasn't in the library. I was just outside it in the corridor."

"And you were purposefully yelling _into it_!" Madam Pince huffed. "You were deliberately distracting students from their studies." James looked past the puffed up librarian to look inside. All he saw were rows and rows full of books and empty of teenagers. Harry was gathering his things in the corner, and a couple of third years were floating a feather in midair by breathing underneath it.

"I see," James said sarcastically. Madam Pince looked behind her, huffed once more, looking like a thoroughly bothered chicken, before returning to her desk. "All right, Thewler?" James asked as Harry approached, a grin shining from his face as he spoke.

Harry shrugged. "Been better," he said casually, though still amused with his father's episode with the librarian. "Did you manage to get the book?" he asked James excitedly. The Marauder nodded his head.

"I don't think Sirius saw the exact book, but he saw me take it out," James said.

"When does it say the potion will be done?" asked Harry.

James opened up the book and quickly flipped through the old pages. "It should be ready for tomorrow morning!"

"It took long enough," Harry said exasperatedly, but feeling ecstatic all the same. "We've been planning this since that last Hogsmeade trip."

"Just think of it," James said, his eyes becoming hazy. "Our first father-son prank… Well, probably not for you, but this is a historical moment for me." Harry laughed along, though the comment left a sting in his heart. Both Potters strolled out of the corridor and headed up the nearby staircase.

"Father-son?" came a quiet, greasy voice from a statue, followed by a greasy-haired boy. Snape gazed after the retreating James and Harry with an intrigued look. "Oh, Potter, you make this too easy…" Snape cackled to himself as he crept down the opposite hall, hands in his pockets and eyes glowing with a vengeful fire.

* * *

"OY! Lily! Hermione! Come and join the fun, won't you?" called out Sirius from his spot by the fireplace. (His voice cracked again—that frog would not leave.) It was nighttime for Hogwarts. James and Sirius had just returned from the detention with Professor Smirch, and they were ready for some quality Marauder Time. Thus, all four Gryffindor boys were seated in a circle by their favourite fireplace. James was leaning against the foot of a couch, his hair as wild as ever. Looking like a child ready for story time, Remus was sitting with his legs crossed and hands folded before him. Harry was lying on his stomach, scratching his head in an irritated sort of way. Leaning against the wall, Sirius had one leg tucked up to his chest, and the other lying lazy before him. He had looked up at the sound of the portrait opening and called the girls over. 

Lily and Hermione hesitated before walking over to the boys. "What are you boys up to?" asked Lily curiously.

Sirius acted offended. "Why, Evans, I'm shocked! You dare accuse us of doing something? We are just innocently sitting by the fireplace and you come here and assume we are up to no good? I'm outraged. Right, Prongs?"

James, whose eyes were dancing over Lily (she blushed at his gaze), didn't answer at first. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to lie, Padfoot?" said James, smiling.

"Er—actually, she taught me _to lie_… all the time. And how to backstab. And how to act superior…" Sirius gave a bemused "humph" before letting loose a smile.

"Now you're just being difficult," said James, his smile equal to his friend's.

"Me? Difficult? Naw…"

"Well, we can see that you are chalk full of sarcasm, tonight, Sirius," Hermione said.

Sirius looked up at her and grinned. "Why don't you two take a load off your feet, hm? Come. Join us. We were just _talking_." He patted the ground between him and James. James slid over some more to make room for Lily.

"Looks as if we have no choice, Lil," Hermione said with a shrug and a smile before hopping down onto the floor.

As Lily slowly crouched down onto the floor next to James Sirius commented, "Look who's full of sarcasm now," although he held a proud grin while he spoke.

"Again, I ask you, what are you boys up to?" Lily asked, gazing curiously around at the four Gryffindor boys. Remus fiddled with the rug he was sitting on while Harry scratched his head some more. "And what is wrong with your head, Harry?"

Harry looked up at Lily and stopped scratching immediately. "These _gits_ put some form of itching powder in my shampoo this morning. I managed to get most of it out of my hair before I itched my head off, but…" He glared at the other boys. Sirius just smirked.

"Okay, I won't deny that one." His grin widened and Harry reached up to his head again to scratch it, but, alas, the effect was once again lessened as Sirius's voice cracked.

"Having some trouble with your voice box, Sirius?" smirked Lily. Sirius glared at her as he massaged his throat.

"For your information, Evans," spat Sirius, "Snape cursed me with some spell that is making my voice—"

"Wonky?" finished James, holding a terrible smirk on his face.

"Shut it, you," bit back Sirius. He was very attached to his perfectly smooth voice, and was appalled that Snape would stoop to such a low level as to mess it up.

"Back to the Marauder dares," interjected Remus loudly, seeing as Harry was about to throw a pillow at Sirius. Hermione and Lily groaned.

"That's what you're doing?" whined Lily. "Dares?"

"You don't have to participate if you don't want to," James said quickly. "All you have to do is laugh with us—"

"More like _at_ us," Sirius commented.

"—And have fun. Please stay." He looked apprehensively at Lily. She rolled her head, signaling for them to continue.

"Right," Remus said, clapping his hands together once. "No one remembers whose turn it was, do they?"

"I do believe it was yours, Moony ole pal," Sirius answered sweetly, grinning. "Have any good ones?" he asked the other spectators. "And nothing dirty," he added towards Lily and Hermione with a wink. Both simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"I dare you to…" James started with a malice-filled grin (Remus groaned), "To kick Mrs. Norris, throw an _apple_ pie at her, and leave the pie tin behind. Inside the pie tin, spell out the words 'Cats make a really good dinner' in fake whipped cream. To prove you did so, you must return with a fistful of her cat hair covered in apple pie, all right?"

Remus let out a sigh of relief. "That's it?" he asked. "Phew, I got off lucky this time." He stood up, saluted to everyone, and left the common room with his wand grasped firmly in his fist.

"I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not," Hermione stated as he walked away.

"No, he was being truthful," Sirius croaked. Clearing his throat with a pained expression, he continued. "I guess little Jamesie was feeling particularly generous towards the man… But when it comes to me for this one's dare," (he jabbed his thumb at James) "mercy is no longer in my vocabulary." He feigned a surprised face aimed towards James. "And look whose turn it is: Prongs's! And since Moony isn't here right now, it'll be Harry and me who come up with the next one." James gulped.

After a few minutes of thinking, Sirius spoke up again, with great enthusiasm. "I've got it! You're in luck Prongsie. I was reading one of your books the other day… and I came across this potion that acted quite similarly to the Polyjuice Potion. It changes the drinker's appearance, but it also leaves one characteristic of the drinker's the same…" James and Harry looked at each other. "So my dare is: make that potion, then slip it into random drinks during Christmas dinner."

James was about to wholeheartedly agree until he heard Sirius's last few words. "By Christmas? But that's tomorrow! The potion takes longer to brew than one night."

"Since when can a Marauder hide something from another Marauder?" replied Sirius. "I saw the pile of ingredients near your bed a few days ago."

Sighing, James agreed. He and Harry and other plans, but a Marauder couldn't back down from a dare, now, could he? "All right. Tomorrow it is. But if you want me to feed it to other students at dinner time, they won't be affected for another ten to twelve hours later. That's how the potion works."

Sirius shrug. "That's better, actually. Then Christmas won't be too full with Marauder pranks."

"But that's really advanced magic," exclaimed Hermione abruptly. "I've read about that potion. It's called the ­­­­­­­­­­Multisap Solution, isn't it? Supposedly, it is harder to brew than the Polyjuice Potion."

"Er—it's already been brewed," said Harry. "You'd be surprised how easier brewing potions is if you don't have a horrible potions teacher breathing down your neck."

"Who will be the volunteer specimen?" said James before Lily had time to question Harry's comment.

Sirius grinned with an evil flicker in his grey eyes. "You."

"What!" yelped James, snapping out from his lazy position, though, he was not the only one: Lily had yapped aloud at Sirius's proposal, too. "You want to change half of the student body into a bunch of James Potters?" added Lily. "Why, that's ludicrous! And besides, teachers will know it was one of you two who did it."

"She has a point there, Padfoot," James said. He couldn't help but to agree with Lily.

"Since when do Marauders care about teachers?" asked Sirius rather sharply. His tone suddenly lightened as everyone gave him a strange glance. "Anyways, it's not as if we care about getting detentions… Right, Prongs?"

James felt the glare of his best friend and of the girl of his dreams, and shrunk under the weight of it all. He felt as if he was the rope in a game of tug-of-war, and Sirius and Lily were the opposing sides. He did not like this feeling at all. Thankfully, Remus entered the common room again. James was saved…. For the moment.

"I've got it," Remus said proudly, plopping down on the floor beside Harry (who was still scratching his head). He held out a fist full was looked like leftovers from a cat's meal. It was Mrs. Norris's hair covered in apple pie. "That was easy, and, I hate to admit it, fun."

"Remus!" everyone gasped. "Breaking the rules, fun?" mocked Sirius.

Remus just grinned. "Did I miss anything?"

"I came up with a brilliant prank," said Sirius egotistically, puffing out his chest. "And I believe it will cause great mayhem and a few headaches for the teachers," he added with a smile. "I dared James to change a good handful of students here into a bunch of James Potters with a Multisap Solution."

Remus gulped. "Oh great."

"Hey!" cried James indignantly. "I'm not that bad looking… am I?" His eyes flickered over to Lily.

"Did anything else happen?" Remus said to save Lily from commenting. "Or are we onto your dare, Sirius?" Everyone else nodded. Remus looked towards the girls, who had both been sitting quietly and listening for most of the time, especially Hermione. "Why don't you two have a go at it? Try to think up a good dare for Sirius to do."

Everyone's reaction was almost immediate. Harry was the only one who didn't respond overwhelmingly. Hermione's still face broke into a true smile, a twinkle in her eyes. Lily's eyes, on the contrary, were lit with a vengeful fire. After all those smart-arse comments and awful pranks he had pulled on innocent Slytherins, she finally had the chance to dish something back at him. James looked lovingly on at Lily, admiring the fire in her eyes (and glad that, for once, it was not aimed at him). Sirius just leaned back some more, seeming quite smug, and gazed deeply at Hermione.

Lily eagerly twisted in her spot on the floor so she could see Hermione properly but could keep an eye on Sirius at the same time. James could tell that she was set on making Sirius's dare the best one yet, without creaking any rules, of course.

"It must be something humiliating," said Lily excitedly to Hermione.

Hermione added, "And something daring."

"Something creative, " said Lily.

"Something really brilliant," they both said together.

"Good guidelines to follow," said a bemused Sirius, his voice altering from low to high to low again, "but are either of you going to articulate any more? Because me pulling off my underpants and making them do the Hokey-Pokey is humiliating, daring, and creative." His face split into a huge, mocking grin.

"I think it should involve something that he has forced his own prey to do," said Lily, ignoring Sirius's comment.

"My own prey?" repeated an amused Sirius.

"From what I've seen so far this year, he does have a thing for singing," Hermione commented to Lily, ignoring Sirius's commentary for the time being. Lily looked questioningly at her friend. "Well, he's made Snape sing loads of times, hasn't he?"

"'He' is sitting _right here_, you know," said Sirius, not so amused any more. "And might I add that I can't sing very well right now," he said hurriedly, pointing to his throat. In his eyes was a glint of apprehension.

"Then it's settled," said Lily enthusiastically. "We'll have him sing to the school come Christmas morning at breakfast."

"And dance," included Hermione.

"Oh, make it even more embarrassing," said Remus, grinning. "Make him dance on top of the Gryffindor table."

"To an Elvis song," said Lily.

"You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog," said Remus and Hermione at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. Lily laughed along with them, but was oblivious as to why they both chose the same song.

"All right, it's settled then," said Lily, clapping her hands together in an excited manner. "Sirius will sing You Ain't Nothing but a Hound Dog on Christmas morning to everyone, dancing on the Gryffindor table. Excellent."

Sirius groaned. "But I don't even know the lyrics," he pleaded. Sure, he would usually love to do something like that, bonus points if McGonagall rubs her temples and slams her head on the table, but since his voice was acting a bit dodgy…

"Then I guess you had better learn them before then," said Lily, grinning wickedly.

Sirius's shoulders sank. He knew he couldn't argue his way out of this one. But… A light bulb clicked inside his mind. If he had to go through with this dare, might as well drag the others down with him. "All right, then. Fine. Have it your way." He discreetly took out his wand and aimed it at the clock across the room. It suddenly started to chime for one o clock in the morning.

Hermione and Lily looked startled. "It can be one in the morning already, can it?" asked Lily. She looked at her watch and started to stand up, Hermione right beside her. "We must be going." As they started to walk away, Sirius spoke loudly to James.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Prongs, the girls didn't have the guts to take on a Marauder dare."

James immediately looked away from Lily with an inquiring look on his face. Sirius twitched his head in the direction of the two girls, who had stopped in their tracks. James caught on. "See, I told you they wouldn't volunteer. Too scared to break the rules." Remus and Harry rolled their eyes. "We guys are much stronger and have more nerve than them, isn't that right?"

Hermione knew the boys were coaxing her and Lily to join the Marauders' dares, and she knew better. However, the hot-tempered Lily failed to see the cajoling. She whipped around to face the boys, spinning Hermione around with her. Dragging Hermione along, Lily glared as she marched right up to James and Sirius, who had both stood up to meet the girls.

"Yes?" asked Sirius sweetly.

"Don't you dare call us weak," Lily growled. "We could and we will take on any dare you throw at us, right Hermione?" With hearing no answer, Lily snapped her head towards Hermione. At that set glare, Hermione nodded, though she knew she would regret it, especially with the glint in Sirius and James's eyes.

"Promise?" asked James. "You won't chicken out or anything?"

"Bring it on." Lily put her hands on her hips stubbornly.

"All right then," said Sirius animatedly. "First things first, it must break the rules." James nodded in agreement.

"And must deal with something of teachers, preferably McGonagall."

"And it must be annoying."

"What about a talking parrot?" suggested Remus. Every eye turned towards him, suggesting he was mad.

"I'm not sure I want to know where that came from," said James.

"What about a white ferret that blathers incessantly all the time?" asked Harry, scrabbling up from his spot on the floor. Hermione gave Harry a look that plainly said, "Don't you even go there." Harry, who was now acting more and more like a Marauder with each passing day, just grinned widely at her.

"And it would follow McGonagall all around the school," added James, his grin becoming charged with ecstasy.

"And wouldn't cease until you two confessed," finished Sirius, his grin a mirror image of James's.

"Brilliant!" cried out all four boys.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "You want us to do that?"

"That's almost pathetic," commented Hermione.

"Well, I was thinking of a strip tease for the teachers," said Sirius, "but I thought you two wouldn't fancy that too much."

"Enchanting a ferret to follow McGonagall around is fine with me. How about you, Hermione?"

"All right with me, Lily."

"There's a rule against strip tease?" asked Harry. "Why should there be that rule in the first place?"

"We… helped that rule to come into being," said James, not meeting Harry or Lily's eyes.

"Damn right we did," said Sirius proudly. "The very first day this year, in fact. If only you had come a few days earlier, eh?" He nudged Hermione. She rolled her eyes.

"And it was not a pretty picture, I can assure you that," sneered Lily. "Now if you'll excuse us, we need to get our sleep. Good night boys." Lily and Hermione turned to leave.

"But why so early?" questioned Sirius. He looked at the clock. The girls followed his gaze. It read half past eleven.

"Why you little…!" whispered a half-angered, half-astounded Lily. "You devious little gits!" though she laughed through her words. "Well, I'm going anyways." And she raced up the stairs.

"I'm worried about Lily," said Hermione in a quite serious tone.

James looked up in alert. "Why?" he asked instantaneously. "What's wrong?"

Hermione broke into a grin. "I think you boys are corrupting her."

They all laughed, but were silenced by the most unexpected visitor.

"Professor McGonagall!" breathed Hermione. All the boys stopped in mid-laughter. Rarely did McGonagall show up in the common room. She either was the bearer of bad news, or was about to tell them off for being loud or something of that sort. She seemed to be startled at the Marauders' cackling that she had just heard. _That is never a good sign_, she said mentally to herself as she walked over to the group of sixth years.

"Can we help you, Minerva?" asked Sirius while laughing at the same time. James elbowed him in the ribs. He understood that when McGonagall came up to the Gryffindor common room, it was not the perfect time to joke around.

The Head of Gryffindor House glared at Sirius before turning to the two time-travelers. "Harry, Hermione, may I have a word, please?" Professor McGonagall asked quietly. She waited for the three Marauders to leave. Indeed: they took their cue and started to shuffle up the back stairs that lead to their dormitory. As soon as Remus's hand reached the banister, though, McGonagall changed her mind. "Actually, you boys will probably have something to say about this, too." They looked inquiringly at their teacher as they made their way back to the chairs by the fireplace. Sitting down, they waited for McGonagall to speak.

"Seeing as Mr. Potter knows this, I'm sure the rest of you know about Mr. Thewler's and Miss Granger's… past," she said, tossing aside subtly. They all turned their heads towards James before nodding. Hermione's eyes went from James to Harry, lingering on the latter before returning her attention to McGonagall. "A student has informed me that he, too, knows about your original whereabouts," she continued, gazing at Harry and Hermione.

"Actually," interrupted Sirius, "it would be more like _whenabouts_, wouldn't it?" He smiled innocently as her nostrils flared.

"Mr. Black," snapped McGonagall, "for once I want you to try not to interrupt me with pointless comments." Letting out a deep breath, she started to continue in her original manner, but was cut short by another Marauder.

"It was Snape, wasn't it?" said James immediately. He had automatically thought of Lily, but since McGonagall had mentioned a "he", James's mind then jumped to his rival.

"It's not my place to tell," said Professor McGonagall curtly, though her eyes plainly spelled it out: it had been Snape who had ratted them out. "And who 'ratted you out', as I'm sure you're thinking," (James snapped from his thoughts, taken aback by McGonagall's accuracy), "is not important. The point of me being here, is that you two," she said, staring straight at Harry and Hermione, "are in serious trouble if you keep this up. First of all, it's a miracle that Dumbledore actually let you stay in this school while away from your home." Harry's eyes widened. "Yes, Mr. Thewler. Most headmasters would have sent you away to hide in a house far away from civilization. But Headmaster Dumbledore believes in giving others chances."

Remus gulped. All that needed to happen now was for her to bring up werewolves and they would be done for. If only she knew that the two boys sitting beside Remus were actually unregistered Animagi…

"And since you two are from a time where most of the people here are quite familiar to you, I'd advice that you start to act more responsibly," she finished her sentence with a snap. "Don't go flaunting yourselves about this school. This goes for you three, too," she added to the Marauders. "Don't go down the halls talking about this. You shouldn't even know anything… at all!" James, Sirius, and Remus bowed their heads. Satisfied, Professor McGonagall turned back towards the time-travelers. "I am afraid that I will have to take away your future Hogsmeade trips." And she did look apologetic. All the boys opened their mouths to object, but McGonagall silenced them by saying loudly, "I'm sorry, but you must learn. Now, Harry, Hermione, if I can have a private word."

Remus, Sirius, and James all stood up to leave. As they walked away, Professor McGonagall said loudly to them, "Stay out of trouble, boys."

The Marauders just smirked and raced up to their dormitory. Remus won.

McGonagall rolled her eyes and turned to Harry and Hermione. "Dumbledore wanted to tell you that there has been word of another Life-Alter (a/n: Remember? That's what their time-traveling device is called) being made. If his calculations are correct, if should be finished in two to eight weeks."

Harry nodded, though Hermione spoke out. "Excuse me, Professor, but does the Ministry know we're here? Are they keeping track of us?"

Professor McGonagall looked almost saddened. "Under the normal circumstances, yes, they would be fully notified. But now does not seem the right time to do so." Harry looked at her in question, and she answered his unspoken question. "We're not sure which side will be receiving the news: Death Eater's or the Ord… our side," she finished quickly. The professor looked puzzlingly at the two sixth years. Hesitated to say something, but carried on anyways. "Something seems quite familiar about you two," she said, this time her voice was softer. All traces of lecturing had left her tone. "Do I— No. Never mind. Good night." McGonagall started to leave.

"Excuse me, Professor," Hermione said abruptly. "But were you going to ask us of the future?"

McGonagall faltered. "It doesn't matter. Just take heed to what I said. Good night." She left Gryffindor Tower.

Upstairs, James was pacing. When faced with a problem or dilemma, the Marauders would go through a routine. Peter would sit on a bed, stuffing his face with food and looking confused. James was usually the pacer: sometimes talking, sometimes mute. Remus would sit on his own bed, giving advice every time James looked up and stopped muttering. Sirius would lean against something, rolling his eyes every now and then, but would also put in his two cents.

Upstairs, James was still pacing. "What's going to happen if anyone else finds out?" he said aloud to his friends. But before they could even open their mouths, James continued. Remus and Sirius looked at each other; they could tell a full-on rant was heading their way. "They could be kicked out of the country. Sent to Australia. Forced to eat gross peanut-butter-wanna-be for the rest of their days! What have I done! I think it might've been my fault, actually. Snivellus probably overheard the conversation between either me and Hermione or me and Thewler. It's all my fault!"

In the middle of James's rant, Sirius, who had a far-away look on his face, turned to talk to Remus. "You know, we don't even know Hermione's real name, do we?" he asked in a hollow voice. The comment McGonagall had made left a mark of Sirius. He had never realized that there was the possibility of Hermione being whisked away to the middle of nowhere. He couldn't get that thought out of his mind.

Remus looked away from the crazed boy that was ranting, his grin fading into a solemn look. "It could be some awful name that sounds like a Yank's." Both boys shuddered.

"She probably won't be here for much longer, will she?" Sirius asked.

Remus could not answer.

"Oh, that greasy prat is probably going to hold it over our heads, too," continued James, never noticing his two friend's conversation. "That Snivellus is going to use it against us. Against me. Torment me. But I shan't let him get to me. No, don't give in to his taunts. Don't give in to the Dark Side."

"Yeah, use the Force, Luke," said Harry, standing in the doorway. Living with the Dursleys didn't mean he was entirely shut out from the Muggle world. He had learned a few things every now and then. Star Wars was one of them. Hermione was standing beside Harry.

"The Force?" asked Remus.

"Who's Luke?" asked James, stopping mid-rant.

Sirius, however, had no interest in learning what the Force was or what Luke had to do with it. He saw Hermione and felt an overpowering emotion inside. It was so uncontrollable that he strode forward, disregarding everyone else in the room (since all his eyes could see was Hermione) and pulled her right outside the door. They were out of sight from everyone else, Hermione's back against the stone wall. Without a pause, he bent his head down and kissed her, good and proper. It was short, yes, horribly good. The moment he pulled away, he explained in short words. "Thank you for not being sent off to some lonely island. Thank you for messing with time. You being here is probably the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time."

Hermione looked at the boy in front of her. Emotions swelled inside her mind, crashing against the side of her head painfully. Out of all the confusion of complete glee, utter sadness, and slight anger, she managed to say the words that she had been programmed to say. "Sirius, we can't—"

"But we can," intervened Sirius. "It's quite possible, if only for however short of a time you stay here. Being without you is killing me. Remember, 'Tis better to have love and lost, than never to have loved at all.'" Sirius stepped back, satisfied with his argument, and watched the war raging in her eyes.

Although the rule abiding had spoken out once, it was the other half of Hermione's mind—the regular teenage, hormonal girl—that reacted next. Laying a soft hand on Sirius's cheek, she gave him a swift kiss on the lips. Ending the sweet moment, she gently pushed past him and started to walk away. Hermione didn't stop until she reached the other staircase that lead to the girls' dormitories. Looking back at him, Hermione spoke. "I'll give you my answer tomorrow, all right?" Sirius, who was dumbfounded by her kiss, just nodded numbly. "Think of it as a Christmas present, if you wish." She smiled once more before traveling back up the stairs. Echoing down the corridor rang her voice: "Good night."

Sirius stood blankly, watching her shadow fade away into the shadows. Just in that short amount of time outside in the corridor, he went from feeling awkward to content to absolutely baffled. It took him a few minutes to take in everything while his brain moved as slowly as molasses.

Hermione kissed him.

Nope, too difficult. He decided to start with something a bit more simple.

Spontaneously, he blurted that he was thankful of Hermione's presence.

Okay, odd, but he accepted it.

He kissed her.

No confusion there.

She replied with her usual excuses. He countered it with a famous quote that fit perfectly.

Odd, again, but Sirius was known to be random sometimes.

Hermione kissed him.

…Plausible, almost.

She mentioned something about a Christmas present….

By the time James came out to fetch his friend, Sirius's mind had rested on one plain emotion: eagerness for Christmas morning to arrive.

"You all right there, mate?" asked James, noticing his friend's stance and hazy eyes. He waited a few more seconds before Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, or at least, I will be," said Sirius cryptically. He did not explain anymore, and James took the hint. It was something his friend was still processing.

"Whatever you say, Padfoot." James clapped Sirius on the back. "You missed Thewler's explanation of the Force. It was quite… interesting." He chuckled. Noticing Sirius's immobility, James grabbed his friend and yanked him back into their dormitory.

"Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him," Harry was saying.

"You mean it controls your actions?" asked Remus.

"Partially, but it also obeys your commands," Harry corrected.

"Are you two still going on about this Force?" asked James exasperatedly. "Sounds like a load of hokey religion stuff to me, a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."

They all laughed while changing into their pajamas.

"Can you believe it's going to be Christmas tomorrow?" asked Harry excitedly, hopping into his bed, clad in his new pajamas.

"Presents," said James, starry-eyed. This year he was hoping for a gift from a certain red-haired, green-eyed beauty he had been chasing after for quite some time. But a concept that had just entered his head shattered his thoughts. "Aren't you going to miss home? I mean, this would probably be your first Christmas away from home, wouldn't it?" As soon as he spoke, James realized his choice of words. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask you about the future. I was just curious—"

"It's fine," Harry said quickly. "I know. But, yeah, I'm going to miss my friends… and family," he added, just not to make James curious. "But being with all of you is a once in a life-time thing, isn't it?"

"I guess," said James. Another thought popped up in his head. "Hey! In the future, then, Lily and I will have the house to ourselves this Christmas… Lucky me." His grin became devious. Harry could not pull himself to agree, so he just turned over, pretending to put something away in a coat pocket beside his bed. James turned to Remus and Sirius, who had been quiet since McGonagall's talk.

"What're y' thinking about, Moony?" James asked.

It was a while before Remus answered. "Hermione's a pretty nice girl, isn't she?" he said vaguely. James chose not to answer verbally, but responded with a half-shrug, half-nod. Sirius and Harry both instantaneously looked at the lycanthrope. A few more seconds passed by as Remus gathered his words. "I would love to go out with her, but… it'd be selfish, wouldn't it?"

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"One: she would leave with a broken heart, and would have to go back to a time where I'm her father's age. And that's going to be a bit awkward for her, isn't it? But also, I've been betraying Dumbledore's trust every month for the past year or so. I can't do any further to upset it." Remus sighed. "I think it's better if we just keep our distance away from her… and you." He looked straight at Harry.

"Him!" cried out James. He sputtered a few breaths before speaking. "Remus! We can't just toss aside a friendship because of some stupid rule!"

"I'm not saying we kick him out of our dormitory and turn our backs on him completely, but we can't keep on acting the way we are. This is endangering our lives, Prongs! And their lives, too."

"Honestly, you keep acting as if we are pinpoints of the future," said James exasperatedly. "Just because we're close friends doesn't mean the world is going to end in the future."

Harry followed the argument like a tennis rally. He had guilt burning inside himself. In his heart, he knew Remus was right. But this was Harry's only chance to be with James or Sirius ever again. A few months ago, back in his own time, he would have done anything to be in his situation that he was in right now. But it wasn't as simple.

"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.'"

Everyone stopped their arguing and looked at Sirius, for it was he who had said the quote.

"What was that?" James asked.

"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all,'" Sirius said again in a simple tone. "James is right, Remus. Sure, we won't 'flaunt', as McGonagall put it, around Harry and Hermione's original whenabouts, but we can't stop being friends. We can't 'keep our distance'. We're the Marauders. We are more loyal than that. And no matter what Harry's choice is, he will always be a Marauder to us, and I'm sure to himself, too."

Remus nodded grimly before facing Harry. "You must understand that I don't want to stop being friends, it's just that this time-traveling isn't a joke. And I'm just starting to realize the consequences."

"Welcome to my world," mumbled Harry lightheartedly.

* * *

Hours after Father Christmas's arrival, Sirius woke up, his dreams haunting him. Yet again, he had the dream of seeing his, James, and Lily's grave with death dates not too far from the date right now. Hermione also made an appearance in Sirius's dream, saying, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." 

This couldn't mean that Hermione was hiding something fatal from Sirius, could it? Well, of course she was keeping some things away from Sirius, and that was to be expected from a time-traveler. It just worried Sirius when he saw James and Lily's grave, with the dates of 1960-1981.

Sirius shook his heads to get the thoughts of his disturbing dream out of his head. However, another thing had been on his mind right before he fell asleep. It had to do with Remus's talk.

So Remus was going to lay off on Hermione. Sure, the boy was going to be around her and talk to her, but no more fighting for her. Sirius found the positive side to this in thinking that he could now…further his fancy without having to fight against Remus.

Although, this meant that now, Sirius would be opposing not only Harry's, but also James and Remus's wishes. From Sirius's view, the three other boys still thought that Sirius would dump Hermione once he was bored with her, but that was not true! Sirius had never met a girl like Hermione, and he was willing to do anything to make her happy. But letting her go would be hard.

Was Sirius really prepared for Hermione's "answer" that she promised him? If it was a yes, if Hermione would actually act more than a friend, it still would be awkward. They would have to hide it most of the time, which never ends well, as Sirius knew from personal experience. Also, Hermione would limit to how close they actually grew. She would hold back, which could hurt her even more, not to mention Sirius. They would both have to act responsible.

If she said no, if she denied him, once and for all, it would be the worst Christmas Sirius would have to go through, not to mention the following days afterwards. It would be torture to be so close to someone that he possibly loved and not be able to act on his emotions. _I don't think I could do that for long…_

What would happen when she left? Sirius knew that that time would come sooner than he hoped. Even though he was determined to make her happy until the very last second, others might get in the way, including herself.

Sirius would have to go through almost twenty years without Hermione. That alone was enough to drive him mad. Might as well be chucked in Azkaban… But at the end of twenty years, at the end of that dark tunnel… _she'll be waiting for me, right?_ If and when things grew bad, the fire that would be lit inside his head would keep going: she will be there.

James woke up, shouting, "I'm drowning in pudding!" He screamed and bolted upright, panting. Once he realized his true surroundings, his breathing calmed down. He looked across to see Sirius looking at his friend as though he were mad. Sirius looked as if on the verge of hysterical laughter. Instead of making a sneer comment, James took a deep breath, as if preparing to yell, which he did.

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"

His other roommates groaned and moments later, James was buried under a great pile of pillows, and feather sticking out of his mouth.

* * *

A/N: I'm getting better at updating, aren't I? I know a month is a long time, but it's better than two, isn't it? Now. How many people realized that the first paragraph in this chapter was exactly from the fifth book of Harry Potter (I modified it a little to fit) when Harry and Cho are at Madam Puddifoot's? Raise you hand high, now. That's good. Next poll. How many of you actually raised your hand to a computer screen? Raise 'em up higher! Good! I'm glad we all have a bit of insanity in us. 

BRAVO to all who spotted the HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY funness in the last chapter. I, personally, am excited to see the movie, though I know I'll still love the books better.

And to all those Star Wars fans out there… Is anyone as excited as me for Episode III? (Did you like my references to Episode IV in this chapter?)

Okay, I'm done now with my love for movies. On to something that deals with _this_ story. Now… Many of you have asked how many chapters are there going to be in this story. To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I'm actually winging it as we speak. And I don't want to give you an estimate for two reasons: I don't want to be proven wrong, and it takes all the fun away! Honestly… :D

I am touched by how many people cared about my dodgy laptop (named Apocalypse). All of your good wishes must've helped, because it is now fixed and running properly! Yay! Sure, there's no more Solitaire, but I think I'll live. ; )

**Fallen Angel of Hell**: That "mistake" you found in chapter eleven… I think you got confused. I wasn't actually implying that Draco was really in the back of the Potions classroom. It's just that Harry and Hermione were so used to hearing his snickering after Snape taunted them that they started to hear it in their minds. (That's how much of a pain he is… but maybe that's just me thinking that)

**alyce**: Being sick on one's birthday is definitely not fun, I agree. Definitely not my cup of tea. By the way, my birthday is the fifteenth of February. :D

**Cini**: Ahhh, fresh meat.

Er… I think that's all. Thank you to all who reviewed! And I thank you in advance, because you're going to review a few seconds after you read thing, aren't you? ; )


	28. Chapter 28: The Surprises of Christmas

I don't own anything that somebody else owns.

* * *

**Chapter 28: The Surprises of Christmas**

James spit out the feathers in his mouth to exclaim to everyone, "Wake up! It's Christmas, which means… PRESENTS!"

A loud bark sounded through their dormitory. Seconds later, a large black dog bounded through Sirius's bed curtains. He stood eagerly in the middle of the room, his tail spinning like a windmill. Harry and Remus were still in bed, not making any sounds other than their deep breathing. Padfoot barked again. The next moment, he, too, was covered in pillows. After what sounded like a dog snickering, Padfoot pushed the pillows aside so he could breathe properly. Panting with his tongue sticking out, the large dog sprang through the pile of pillows, free at last. The dog trotted over to the end of Sirius's bed to where a small pile of presents lay. He sniffed them enthusiastically. It seemed as if one had a particularly good scent to it, for the dog pushed that present away from the rest with his nose. In an instant, a young man with black hair was sitting on the floor, though he was only still for a second. The next second, he was tearing open the parcel.

"Food!" Sirius Black yelled before stuffing his face with the contents inside the present.

"Did I just hear a—a—a dog bark?" yawned Harry, blearily rubbing his eyes. He grabbed his glasses and slid them on. Stepping out of bed, he noticed the pile of presents at the end of his bed, which was certainly the smallest out of everyone's. Despite this, he grinned like a jack-o-lantern.

"Thanks for waiting for us, Padfoot," grumbled Remus as he stepped out of bed.

"But Mrs. Potter's fudge was calling for me," said Sirius after he gulped a large quantity of food down his throat. He held out the package, waved it about, and said in a soft, high-pitched voice, "Eat me, Sirius, the best looking guy here, eat me!"

"Didn't you ever hear of the saying, 'Don't play with your food,' Padfoot," snickered James.

"No," said Sirius.

"Oooh, there's chocolate fudge?" said Remus excitedly, hopping down onto the floor, sifting through his parcels at lightening speed. The other boys laughed as they, too, started to open their presents.

Harry's pile consisted of gifts only from the four Marauders, Hermione, and Lily. The two girls had given him a combination present that was made up of books and sweets. Each Marauder had given Harry a little trickster's knickknack from Zonko's Wizarding Joke Shop. Harry had reminded them earlier as Christmas was approaching that they shouldn't spend too much money on himself or Hermione, since they might need that money later on. Harry flopped back onto his bed, thinking he was done opening his presents. But James called out and pointed to a letter and a very small parcel underneath Harry's bed.

"What's that?" asked James, handing Harry the letter.

Harry turned it over in his hands. The handwriting wasn't familiar, so that ruled out the Marauders, Hermione, and Lily, even Dumbledore. It looked feminine. All that was written on the envelope was

_Harry Thewler_

"Well, open it!" said Sirius, carelessly tossing the fanged Frisbee he had received from Peter so that it started to shred the old wrapping paper beside him. He and the other Marauders watched, intrigued, as Harry opened the letter. As his eyes skimmed the parchment, they grew larger and larger, until it seemed as if they would pop out. From the Marauders' point of view, a swell of emotions washed over Harry's face: amusement, puzzlement, horror, and finally panic.

"What is it?" asked Remus curiously.

"Who is it from?" James asked.

"Can I see it?" asked Sirius, diving for the parchment held loosely in Harry's hand. Harry, too shocked, didn't react to Sirius's attack. Sirius, the parchment in his hand, read the letter to himself and, once finished, laughed his head off. He read it aloud to the rest of the curious Gryffindors:

"_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,_

_His hair is as dark as a blackboard._

_I wish he was mine, he's really divine,_

_To kiss him I must, oh dear lord!_"

The sixth year Gryffindor dormitory was echoing with gales of laughter seconds after Sirius finished reading. In between the mirth was either gasping or quoting the poem, or both. Sirius was actually rolling on the floor.

"Who….is…it...from…?" Remus managed to gasp between his laughter.

Sirius dragged himself across the floor, partially because his hilarity had affected his ability to move properly. He snatched the envelope from Harry's hands. "Jenny Wesley," he read, and as he spoke, the volume of his laughter increased.

"She's a fifth year Ravenclaw, isn't she?" Remus asked. He picked up the parchment after Sirius had dropped it, eyeing the handwriting.

Harry sat, opened mouth, with the package that went along with the letter opened on his lap. "I don't believe it."

"There's more?" asked Sirius hysterically.

Harry didn't respond verbally, but held out the opened parcel. Inside was a chocolate frog, and where its eyes should have been were two emeralds. He reread the poem again, confusion still in his eyes.

"Looks like Thewler has been hiding something from us," Sirius commented to James.

"I don't think I've even talked to this girl," said Harry in a hollow voice.

"Yes you have," said James. "At the Masquerade. She was the one who was flitting about our table, finally asked you dance at the end, tripped over Sirius's foot, _and_ splashed loads of punch onto Snivellus."

"Oh yeah…"

"I like her already," commented Sirius.

"But—what do I do?" asked Harry frantically.

All the boys started to laugh again. "Having some girl problems, mate?" asked Sirius.

"Oooo, this'll be my first chance to help _my son_ with girls," squealed James excitedly.

At that comment, Remus turned quickly towards Harry. "Don't listen to _anything_ he says." James threw a pillow at Remus. The lycanthrope just laughed, but as soon as James turned away, he motioned Harry to plug his ears. Harry snorted.

"Seriously, though," Harry said loudly. "Whoever this is—"

"Jenny," corrected Sirius with a toothy grin.

"All right, _Jenny_ shouldn't even know that I exist," continued Harry. "I mean, if I respond, that'll change the future… Ack! I already have! What if I change this person's life! What if she was supposed to send this poem to the boy she ends up marrying? I would be ruining their entire future!"

"You worry too much," said Sirius, sounding annoyed.

"But Sirius—"

"No buts." Sirius sighed. "Look, Dumbledore knew that you would somehow change the future. By letting you stay here, that says that he was willing to take that chance."

"Wise words," James said, clapping his friend on the back. "Just don't let it get to your head."

"Too late," mumbled Remus as Sirius's chest puffed up and a smug grin snuck on his face.

"But—how do I tell her no without disturbing too much of the future?" Harry asked in a mouse-like tone.

"What? You don't like her?" asked James.

"No," said Harry at once, all too quickly. The boys gave him a shrewd look. "I don't! And I can't."

"Ah, but which comes first?" asked Remus.

"I've never even talked to her."

"We'll change that," said James, a Marauder glint in his eyes.

"Don't you dare," growled Harry.

James and Sirius just returned to their presents, whistling a jaunty tune.

All four Marauders (they assumed Peter had gotten one, too) received a gift from Mrs. Potter, James's mother and Harry's grandmother. It had reminded Harry of the packages he used to get from Mrs. Weasley. Inside were some pieces of her own chocolate fudge, a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and instead of a Weasley sweater, Mrs. Potter had made them scarves, each one a different colour. Remus's was blue. James's was red, as was Sirius's. Peter's was usually yellow.

Synchronically, Remus, James, and Sirius took the scarves out of the parcels. Remus wrapped the scarf around him the proper way—around the neck. James and Sirius, on the other hand, did it quite foolishly. While James draped it around his head like a nun would, Sirius covered his entire head with it, looking like a red mummy. He created a little mouth opening so he could stuff more "Potter Fudge," as he called it, into his mouth.

Mr. and Mrs. Lupin, who definitely weren't the richest people in the country, had sent Remus a new cloak and a note saying "you'll probably get all the chocolate you want from your friends." Sirius laughed at this, and pointed to the present he had wrapped for Remus. Inside the parcel was… chocolate. More specifically, a chocolate Christmas tree with gumdrop lights that would sparkle if tapped by a wand. A few days earlier at Hogsmeade, Remus had eagerly pointed it out to Sirius.

"I was joking, you know," Remus said, smiling all the same as he carefully placed the chocolate tree on his bed.

"And that's why I got it for you," answered Sirius with a wide grin.

James probably had the most amounts of presents, since his family was so huge. He received books, both Muggle and non-Muggle. From cousins he got excellent pranking items. From his parents came their traditional package, plus a note reminding him to stay out of trouble, which he and Sirius guffawed at. After opening Harry and Hermione's present, James spotted one halfway under his bed. He pulled it out to see that it was from Lily! Violently tearing it open, he grinned: it was a book. On the cover read the words, "Much Ado About Nothing."

Sirius had a relatively small pile too. Sure, he had presents from the Marauders, but even then, Harry, Hermione, and Remus couldn't spend much. Predictably, not a single parcel was from the Black family. ("Huh, no present from Uncle Alphard," commented Sirius quietly to himself.) James, on the other hand, had given Sirius something wonderful (not to mention quite expensive). A flying motorcycle—or rather, a promise for a flying motorcycle once summer came, since they weren't permitted, and not to mention quite useless, at school. From Hermione he received a rather odd present. It was a box of doggy treats, which she had enchanted herself. Instead of a meaty flavour, the taste of the treat changed to whatever the eater desired. James laughed as he saw it.

"She knows you too well, Padfoot," said James over the crinkling of wrapping paper.

Sirius looked up with doe-like eyes, his cheeks stuffed full with the dog treats. He gulped a large quantity of food down his throat, waited a moment, belched, and grinned. "Mmm… tasty."

"You won't want to eat too much, Padfoot," said Remus warningly. "Breakfast is coming up soon."

"You don't think I can eat that much? I thought you knew me better, Moony," said Sirius in a hurt tone. Remus rolled his eyes. The boys stayed up in their dormitory for just a while longer. Sirius, his stomach growling like a dragon, suggested that they head down for breakfast.

* * *

Professor McGonagall was calmly walking down the corridor that led to the Great Hall. Everything was going well. It was Christmas. She had gotten a pair of wool socks from Dumbledore. There were no students hexing about. Scratch that. Everything was going great! But as the Deputy Headmistress was nearing the Great Hall, a slight tingle ran up her back, tickling the hairs of her neck. Something was afoot. She could sense it. This could only mean one thing.

The Marauders were at it again.

"_You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all the time!_"

"One day, that's all I ask," muttered McGonagall to herself as she heard the singing wafting through the cheery, Christmas-filled air. She turned the corner to enter the Great Hall and stopped at the sight before her, groaned, and made her way to the one large table set up (since there were so few students staying at Hogwarts for the holidays).

Sirius was standing on top of the only table set up. More accurately, he was _dancing_ on top of the single table. Even more so, he was _singing_ while on top of the sole table. Most importantly, he was dancing and singing to the Elvis Presley song, "Hound Dog" on his own accord, because of the Marauder Dare that had been set up the previous night.

"_You ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine_," sang Sirius. James had fixed his friend's hair to look similarly to Elvis Presley and enchanted his pajamas into Elvis clothes. Sirius even had the American accent going, along with the Elvis lip.

The next part of his song was a musical interlude. This was where his dancing came into play.

It turned out that Sirius wasn't such a bad singer and dancer as was thought. He had the "Elvis Pelvis" down to a "T", doing it best while in front of Hermione. She was in full hysterics by the end of Sirius's dance. At one point, Sirius slid across the table on his knees and he stopped right in front of Snape. Sirius stroked Snape across his chin, winked at the growling Slytherin, and carried on singing, more and more animatedly with each verse. The song ended with Sirius wildly strumming his air guitar, facing away from the teachers, and twisting his pelvis in a way only Elvis would.

"Why do we put up with this, Albus?" asked McGonagall quietly during Sirius's last verse. She looked at the headmaster to find him bopping his head to the beat.

"Well, it provides free entertainment," said Dumbledore, smiling, still moving his head from side to side in step with Sirius's singing.

"Ah, thank you very much," Sirius said at the end of his performance to no one in particular, imitating Elvis's voice while jumping off the table into his spot between James and Harry. After taping his head with his wand, returning his hair back to normal, Sirius looked expectantly around at the Gryffindors sixth years. "Ratings?"

"I'd have to say a six," said Remus, laughing at Sirius's outraged face.

"A six! That's it! Why?" cried out Sirius.

"I thought you were going to have a special dance for McGonagall. I never saw her head hit the table."

"Ignoring the critic, what are everyone else's ratings?" Sirius said, shooting Remus a glare.

"Ratings?" repeated Hermione.

"Yeah, after every Marauder Dare, the others have to rate at how well their performance was," explained James.

"Ten high, zero low," added Sirius.

"An eight, then," said Harry. "I didn't care to see Sirius dancing on top of a table…. Just wasn't my cup of tea."

"Cheers," said Lily.

"Oh, Evans, you know you liked it," said Sirius, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Seven," she said. "And you're lucky to receive that."

"Nine, ole Padfoot," said James. "And a bravo to you. I especially liked that part where you were… dancing for Snape. His face was priceless."

"Yeah, and now I have to wash all that grease off my hands from touching his chin," said Sirius, looking nauseated at his hands. He looked away from his hands, which he was wiping on his pajamas, and glanced at Hermione. "We're waiting for the final and deciding vote."

"Well, it'll leave some disturbing images, I'll say that much," said Hermione with a large smile. She spoke of the time where Sirius was dancing right in front of her, almost too close for comfort. "But all around, I'd say… and eight and a half."

Sirius let out a whoop. "Beat that, Prongsie!" he yelled. "That is almost forty out of 50 points."

"Oh, I will beat it," said James, an evil smirk on his face.

"What's this about Marauder Dares?" asked Saumya, who was out of the loop completely. Sirius and James started to animatedly explain how they looped the two girls into doing a Marauder Dare themselves. The story became mysteriously different as they continued retelling it. Lily set them straight.

Completely out of the blue, Harry yelped at a pitch so high no one else would think possible, and dove underneath the table. James, Sirius, and Remus automatically looked at each other. "Jenny," they chorused before looking at the entrance of the Great Hall.

In entered a single girl, which was a rare sight on its own, and the girl was stepping nervously into the dining area. She walked slowly, as if the ground was about to crack from the very semi-light weight of herself. The fifteen-year-old was actually quite pretty. She had long, wavy locks of an earthy brown hair and freckles dotted her fair cheeks. Jenny stopped right before she reached the table.

Lily waved her hand to grab Jenny's attention. "Hey Jenny, sit with us!" the redhead called out, pointing to a seat next to her and across from Harry. "Ouch!" she grunted as something hit her shin. "Harry, what are you doing underneath the table? Get up." The three Marauders snorted. Still oblivious, Lily said to Jenny, "Happy Christmas," as the fifth year sat down.

Underneath the table, Harry groaned. This was not going well. Sighing, he conjured up a fork, grasped it tightly in his hand, prepared himself, and slid back onto his seat. There she was, sitting right in front of him.

"Hi Harry," Jenny said cheerfully yet nervously at the same time.

"Hullo." Another snort from the Marauders.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" she asked timidly.

"Still got plenty more to go through," said Harry. He checked Remus's watch. "About fifteen more hours left." Harry's insides froze: she started to laugh. _This can't be happening!_

"Are you the only fifth year here, Jenny?" asked Lily kindly.

"No," said Jenny, still smiling. "There's still David Harrison and Amanda Carrick. But Amanda is still sleeping."

James, however, was staring at Harry's face, contemplating on something. "You know, Thewler, I think you should get new specs. The ones you have are just too… I don't know. They just don't seem to fit."

"They're the same as yours," growled Harry, sensing his father's plot.

"I just don't know," continued James, completely ignoring Harry's comment. "Hm… What do you think, Jenny? Do you think Harry should invest in some new glasses?" James forcefully twisted his son's head so that it faced Jenny.

The young girl blushed at being asked, but looked at Harry anyways (blushing even more). She tilted her head while gazing at him, a dreamy smile on her face the entire time. "I think they're perfect the way they are," she said at last.

The Marauders, once again, snorted and chuckled quietly.

"I can't wait for my Dare," whispered James to Sirius and Remus. "Half of the student body looking like me and Harry… We'll especially have fun with this one," he said, jerking his thumb towards the starry-eyed Jenny.

* * *

"I still can't believe Evans was actually on Prongs's team," said Sirius as the four Gryffindor boys walked out of the common room.

"Neither can I," said James dreamily.

A good handful of students had joined the Marauders for a snowball fight. James Potter being the leader of "the Walruses", which consisted of Lily Evans, Harry Thewler, Kyle McFly, Keegan MacTarnahan, Katie Rawson, and Bridget Bell. The opposing side, named "the Dolphins" and lead by Sirius Black, was composed of Remus Lupin, Hermione Snicket, Saumya Kim, Amanda Carrick, Billy Shears, and Zach Wood. A few girls watched from the sidelines, including none other than Miss Jenny Wesley herself.

The Walruses had won with a little bit of cheating on James, Harry, and Kyle's part.

After the battle had been declared over, all of the students rushed back inside to get warm and dry before Christmas dinner. The Marauders, on the other hand, were rushing inside to ready James's potion, which was to be distributed that same night.

"For the last time, Moony, WE KNOW!" shouted James and Harry together. Remus had been checking through the list of ingredients needed for the Multisap Solution repeatedly for the past twenty minutes. "The potion has already been made, Moony, so relax," added James soothingly.

"You aren't going to feed it to us, are you?" asked Sirius.

James never commented, but continued to prance out of the portrait hole.

* * *

"Steer clear of the Great Hall! A massive swarm of billywigs has invaded the area! Stay back for your own safety! Dinner will be ready in ten minutes!" James shouted repeatedly throughout the halls, enchanting his voice to sound like Professor Aylward's so that students would take him seriously. As soon as the Marauders reached the Great Hall, it was empty. "Excellent," said James, his voice his own again. He whipped out his wand and transfigured the scraps of paper from his pocket back into his Marauder Dare potion. Then, while the other three boys stood guard at the entrance, James walked around the table and poured some into each glass, whispering a spell that allow only males to drink the potion. He walked away whistling. "Let's eat, shall we?" he said to the others, who turned to face him.

Five minutes later, the rest of the entire school (or, at least, those who hadn't left for the holiday) walked into the Great Hall to see James, Sirius, Remus, and Harry sitting placidly at the table, hands folded, as if waiting for everyone else. Professor McGonagall shook her head, rubbed her temples, and sat in between Professor Dumbledore and Professor Sprout.

"What took you all so long?" asked James innocently, directing his question at the two Gryffindor girls who just sat down.

"I suppose you're reason for all of that," said Lily, her voice full of humdrum.

"Of course," said James proudly.

"Pay up," said Lily to Hermione, "I knew it was Potter's fault."

Begrudgingly, Hermione handed two sickles over to Lily. Hermione turned to Sirius. "I had faith in you Sirius. And what did you do? You let me down." All through her speech she was smiling and holding back giggles.

"What?" asked James and Sirius, both feeling completely confused.

"Hermione and I had a bet going on: whose fault it was for the delay of dinner," explained Lily, happily stashing away her winnings. "Hermione thought it was all Sirius's plan. I was betting that it was yours."

"Thanks…I think," James cautiously said.

"So predictable, you can even bet on him," commented Sirius.

"Predictable, eh?" challenged James. With lightening speed, he grabbed a spoonful of mashed potatoes and flung them across the table, aiming for Sirius. Sirius, however, ducked at the right time, the mashed potatoes flying over his head and hitting Remus right in the ear.

"Would people _please_ stop throwing things at my ear!" rumbled Remus exasperatedly. His face full of disgust, he dug the mashed potatoes out of his ear, leering around in search of the suspect. "James!" Remus grabbed his wand and shot a line of peas towards James. James rapidly moved to his left at the last second.

They hit a Ravenclaw seventh year right between his eyes. Thinking it was Sirius who had thrown the peas, he aimed a large spoonful of gravy at the Gryffindor.

Sirius deflected it using a Shield Charm. The gravy darted across the table lengthways, and stopped as it splattered onto Professor Dumbledore's face. Everyone stopped talking and waited for the Headmaster's reaction.

Dumbledore lifted his finger, wiped it across the face to catch some of the gravy, and popped it into his mouth. He smiled while wiping his glasses. "I suggest that you all try this gravy," said Dumbledore. "It's really rather good." He looked up. "Oh, continue with your food fight. Just, when you have the chance, try it. It's quite tasty."

"You heard the Headmaster," said Sirius. "FOOD FIGHT!" he yelled before launching a handful of chipolatas at Snape.

* * *

"James Potter! I cannot believe you pelted me with Christmas Pudding… _that had the sickle inside of it!_" growled Lily. She was nursing her head with some ice, since that was where she had been hit. Groaning, Lily flopped down on to one of the Gryffindor common room's chairs.

"Well, think of it this way," said James weakly as he fell on top of a nearby couch. "I earned you three sickles today."

"Not helping," whispered Hermione as Lily let out a snarl.

"I guessed as much," returned James quietly.

"Oy, Sirius," Remus called out to his friend, who had just hopped through the portrait hole. "Did you know that you still have some gravy in your hair?"

"WHAT!" yelped Sirius, jumping three feet in the air. His hand flew to his hair at once. He immediately shrieked as he felt the gooey substance sticking to his perfect, black hair. Sirius dashed across the common room in mere seconds and took three steps at a time to reach a sink with a mirror.

"Do you think he'll ever get over his hair?" James asked to no one in particular.

"Nah," answered Remus. "I think he'll just live life with a mirror always in his pocket, checking it every so often. And if he ever forgot it…. Phew, I wouldn't want to be there."

James laughed. "Yeah, the day Sirius gets greasy hair is the day one of us will join the Death Eaters." Remus and Lily laughed along with him. Hermione and Harry, however, remained dead silent. James leaned back in his couch, putting his legs up on the opposite armrest. "I can picture him thirty years from now, always making sure he still looks the best out of all of us, which we know is impossible as long as I'm alive." He winked at Lily.

Harry had to turn away.

"I'm back," sand Sirius from the top of the stairs. "And with my gorgeous hair, too."

"Wait, you missed a spot, Padfoot," smiled Remus.

"I did!" cried out Sirius, making for his pocket mirror this time. But before he even grasped its handle, Hermione took her wand out, aimed it at his head, and said, "_Scourgify_" and his hair was clean and shiny. Sirius let out a relieved sigh. "I could kiss you right now, you know."

"We know, Sirius," droned James, Remus, and Lily.

"Hermione," said Sirius smoothly, strolling down the set of stairs while ignoring everyone else. "You've never looked so tasty with that whipped cream on your cheek." He sauntered towards her. "I can get rid of it for you." He leaned forward with a playful grin to lick it off her fair cheek, only to be blocked by Hermione's hands pushing against his chest.

"Don't you even think about it, Black," said Hermione, a sparkle in her eyes and smile.

"Too late," whispered Sirius with a wink.

"Did you see Aylward during dinner?" asked James to break up the two starry-eyed teenagers. Hermione gazed bashfully at her shoes before sitting down in a chair. Sirius grinned inwardly as he jumped onto the couch next to James. Satisfied, James continued. "He never got hit once. I can see how he made the team, the Falmouth Falcons, as a Chaser, having to dodge all those bludgers and players and all..."

"I'd say knowing loads of spells as a _Defense Against the Dark Arts_ teacher could help just a tad bit, don't you think?" added Lily.

"Just a tad," winked James.

"I still think that Snivellus was pathetic," said Sirius, making himself quite comfortable on the couch. "He was sniveling like a baby while hiding underneath the table, wasn't he?"

"Maybe that's because _someone_ was chucking two full bowls of chipolatas at him, _Sirius_," said Remus, staring pointedly at his friend. Sirius just pulled off an innocent face, looking like an odd cow caught in headlights.

"Oy!" James cried out suddenly. "Has anyone seen Thewler?" James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and Hermione all sat up in their positions, searching around the common room. There was no trace of Harry.

* * *

Harry tightened his scarf around his neck as he walked down the cold corridor alone. Actually, the scarf had originally been James's. It was a "Potter scarf," as Sirius liked to call it, since it had been hand-woven by Mrs. Potter a couple of years previous. Harry had lacked a scarf when the Gryffindor sixth years headed outside for the snowball fight, so James had lent him one of his old ones. Afterwards, Harry had tried to return it to James, but his father refused it, calling it a gift. "Think of it as a souvenir from the past," he had said with a smile. Harry accepted it, and it had not left his neck since.

Harry turned the corner.

This Christmas was most certainly the best one he had had in his entire life, but a pain lingered in his heart all the same. Harry was finally spending Christmas with his mother and father. Sure, the two weren't on the best of terms at the moment, but even then, having them around made Harry's heart burst with joy. And ache with a stabbing pain. This would be his last Christmas with them, too. His last time to sit around a Christmas tree and tell jokes, open gifts, and enjoy each others' presence. Sirius, too. Harry was never to spend another Christmas with Sirius. Today was his second and last Christmas with his godfather.

No more jokes, no more Marauder stories, no more barking laughter, no more starry-eyed bickering between James and Lily, no more family, no more. Ever.

Harry wiped his eyes with his scarf before tugging it around his neck some more.

He missed Ron, too. (The Potter scarf had reminded him of the Weasley sweaters.) Not a Christmas had gone by without Ron at his side since Harry had arrived at Hogwarts. Ron was always there, saying excitedly "Oy! Presents!" in the early morning. Harry missed hearing Ron's grumbling about maroon sweaters, his admiration for his other presents, and sharing several Bertie Bott's with Harry. He and Ron were brothers, and Harry missed him terribly.

Harry started to climb a set of stairs.

He wondered how Ron was fairing in the future. Harry had tried not to think about it for the most part of his time in the past, because it hurt too much. Ron was without his two best friends in a time where Voldemort's presence was well known. The most terrifying thought came suddenly to Harry's mind like a strong gust of wind. His stomach felt as if someone had knocked the air out of him.

What if someone died?

What is someone whom Harry was close to was murdered or was brutally tortured because of Voldemort or his supporters? Automatically, Harry would blame himself. It would be his fault if someone died at the hands of Voldemort, because it should have been Harry and Voldemort's battle. Harry would never forgive himself.

If there was one thing that made Harry's mind at rest while being back in time, it was the absence of the prophecy. Harry didn't have to worry about being attacked by Voldemort or dementors or Death Eaters. The most he had to watch out for was Snape, mistaking him for James. Even so, Harry's mind found a way to lose his nerve sometimes. He was still putting others at risk in the future by being in the past.

Harry continued to wander aimlessly.

He and Hermione would be leaving in two to eight weeks. Harry found himself unprepared for it, even though he knew it would be coming sooner or later. He just wished it were later. He couldn't face going back to his era without James or Lily or Sirius. He would never be the same after this trip.

Once again, Harry sniffed, and resumed his meandering.

Couldn't he just warn James about his death? Couldn't Harry just let slip some vital information for the future? Did he really have to leave without giving his parents a warning? It was almost too much of Dumbledore to ask Harry NOT to tell his parents about the future. The future is too painful already. Now Harry had to return, having lost loved ones again.

Harry found himself standing in front of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's office.

"Chocolate Frogs," Harry heard himself say, though never realized that he was speaking or how he knew the correct password. The gargoyle leapt aside, revealing a stone staircase that was continuously moving upwards like a spiral escalator. Without really comprehending why, Harry walked forward, stepping onto the moving staircase. Moments later he was standing in front of a pair of rich, oak doors with a brass knocker shaped like a griffin. Harry heard faint humming and pacing footsteps from inside.

Harry knocked.

* * *

Late in the evening, hours after curfew and hours after Lily had retreated upstairs, a lonely girl sat in the Gryffindor common room. The bushy-haired sixteen-year-old was curled up in a well broken-in chair placed near the Gryffindor fireplace. In her hands was a cup of hot cocoa laying snuggly between her folded up legs and her chest. The steam diffusing from the hot temperature of her drink made her surroundings look mystical. At the moment, Hermione was delving deep into her mind, not aware of any sound, smell, or sight around her. Yes or no. Yes or no. Yes or no. That was all that repeated in her head. Yes or no.

"What are you still doing up, Hermione?"

"Waiting for you," Hermione automatically answered. She looked up from her trance to see Sirius sitting down in a chair opposite her. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, posed ready to talk.

"Well, I'm here now," said Sirius softly. "What is it?"

"Where were you?" asked Hermione, ignoring Sirius's question. She continued to stare at the fire rather than his eyes.

"I was at McGonagall's office, discussing my detentions from this morning," answered Sirius with a smile. "Seriously, what's on your mind?" he asked strongly, noticing Hermione's odd behavior.

Hermione sighed. "When McGonagall was talking to us, Harry and me that is, she told us that we would be traveling back to our own time… in two to eight weeks." She gazed with bated breath at Sirius, waiting for his reaction.

Sirius mustered up all the strength he could as discretely as possible. "Well that's good, isn't it?" he said very convincingly. Hermione looked surprised. He continued. "You'll get to see your parents again, your friends, your boyfriend…" He trailed off, looking uncertainly at Hermione. She was about to open her mouth when Sirius continued. "I just thought… that might be the reason why you won't… you know… with me. 'Cuz there was someone else back home."

"Oh Sirius, that's not it at all," Hermione said at once. "Well, there is _someone_, but he's just a friend. I don't fancy him… the way I fancy you." Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Does this mean—"

"Yes," Hermione answered at once. A twinkle lit her eyes. "I know that I shouldn't be doing this, neither should you, but… I'm willing to try." She was beaming. Sirius grinned with her. They were both glowing.

"We should seal the deal with a kiss, though, shouldn't we?" Sirius dared to ask. He waited for her reaction.

"I couldn't agree more," said Hermione, taking a step nearer to Sirius. She laid a hand on his neck and kissed him straight on the lips. He returned it full heartedly, running a hand through her bushy hair. It was a few moments before they broke apart. Their faces a couple of inches away from each other, they were both smiling sheepishly.

"That was nice," was all that Sirius could manage to say.

"Hmm," came from Hermione, still slightly dazed.

"Although, we must find something to do with your hair," said Sirius, taking hold of her hand. "My hand kept getting entangled in its massive puffiness." They both laughed as they started to walk toward the back staircase.

Thunder sounded through the stairs as someone ran speedily down. It was James, shouting Sirius's name repeatedly. He bounded down the set of stairs, taking three at a time and jumping over the last six steps. He landed nimbly and quietly. He noticed his friend immediately. "There you are, Sirius," said James through his huffing. He didn't seem to be in his usual light and humorous mood. He held out a parchment for Sirius to read.

Sirius let go of Hermione's hand to take it, asking, "What's this?"

"Sirius," said James solemnly, "Your Uncle Alphard is dead."


	29. Chapter 29: Death and Discussion

In chapter six of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix titled "The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," Uncle Alphard is mentioned for the first and only time. J.K. Rowling noted that he left Sirius "a decent bit of gold—he's been wiped off the family tree too…" With just that very short description, I created a whole history that might never surface in the books. I hope you can follow along. wink wink

I do not own anything that somebody else owns.

* * *

**Chapter 29: Death and Discussion**

Harry was sitting outside on the cold, stone steps of Hogwarts. The torrential rain and the howling wind would have made anyone dash inside. Harry didn't mind the cold, though. To be truthful, he didn't feel it, really. His five senses were lost at the moment. He could not feel the cold and drenched clothes hugging his body. The luscious smell of damp wood and grass never reached his nose. His tongue stayed dry in his mouth, never opening it for a few droplets of rich rain. His mind failed to comprehend the sound of raindrops splashing in nearby puddles. His eyes never saw the beautiful scenery surrounding him. All that he aware of was only replaying in his mind: his trip to Dumbledore's office only a few hours ago.

_Flashback_

Harry found himself standing in front of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's office.

"Chocolate Frogs," Harry heard himself say, though never realized that he was speaking or how he knew the correct password. The gargoyle leapt aside, revealing a stone staircase that was continuously moving upwards like a spiral escalator. Without really comprehending why, Harry walked forward, stepping onto the moving staircase. Moments later he was standing in front of a pair of rich, oak doors with a brass knocker shaped like a griffin. He heard faint humming and pacing footsteps from inside.

Harry knocked.

A few moments later, the doorknob jiggled before opening. Dumbledore's face came into Harry's view. The Headmaster looked surprised to see a student at his door. "Good evening, Mr. Thewler."

"Wha—oh, yeah." Harry turned slightly pink. Dumbledore did not look much older than he did in the future. So when Harry saw the Headmaster, he had expected Dumbledore to call him Harry, or at least Mr. Potter. He was used to the name Thewler from his teachers and friends, but hearing Dumbledore call him that had unruffled Harry.

"Come in," said Dumbledore, stepping aside and opening the door wider. He pointed to a chair. "I hope everything is all right."

"Yes," lied Harry. He paused, waiting for Dumbledore to sit down at his desk. Harry just leaned against the back of a chair, never sitting down. "Actually, I need to talk to you about that Life-Alter… the one that's going to bring me and Hermione home."

* * *

"What?" asked Sirius, thinking he misheard James.

"Your Uncle Alphard," repeated James, "was killed."

"What?" asked Sirius, though he heard James correctly. His head swam in a large wave of emotions. Uncle Alphard couldn't be dead. Sirius had just received an owl from him a week previous. They actually had plans together this summer, away from the rest of the family. They were going to search for a place for Sirius. Uncle Alphard dead? But he was the good family relative, along with the Tonks. Uncle Alphard was a rebel, too, just like Sirius. That's why they got along so well. Both disagreed with the "family values." At the annual Black dinner party two years before during the summer, the twosome had ruined the dinner by enchanting all the food to insult its eater. Killed?

"Sirius, sit down, would you?" said James quietly.

Sirius obeyed, still lost in his thoughts.

Uncle Alphard was the only reason Sirius attended family gatherings, so he could mock the rest of the family along with his Uncle. Sirius would back up Uncle Alphard when he got in a row with Mrs. Black, vice versa. Uncle Alphard was all the family Sirius had. Without him, Sirius felt like he had no more blood relatives. Killed?

Sirius looked down at his hands to where the envelope was. On the cover were two words written in black ink: _Sirius Black_. With shaking hands, he flipped it over, undid the fastening, and pulled out the parchment.

"Your Uncle was killed," said James slowly, "by Death Eaters." Sirius didn't look up, but kept his eyes focused on the letter. They were completely still. "It turns out he had been trying to save a Muggle-born child from certain death, and got hit in the crossfire." James looked upon his friend with doe-like eyes. "The kid died afterwards and the Death Eaters got away."

The fire hissed sadly in the hearth and outside the clouds' teardrops splattered the windowpane. Other than that, the room was in complete silence. After a long, stretched moment, Sirius focused his eyes once again on the letter. "They're holding a small funeral for him," he croaked. "It's tonight…." He stared at James. "I _have_ to go."

"I know," said James. He pulled his Invisibility Cloak out from behind his back and held it out. "Go to Hogsmeade to the Three Broomsticks, and ask Madam Rosmerta if you can use their Floo Powder. Tell her it's an emergency. I'll cover for you here."

"Thanks, James." Sirius grabbed the cloak from his friend. "I don't know when I'll be back, so don't wait up," he said to both James and Hermione. Sirius nodded once before walking out of the common room.

James turned to Hermione, but before he could get a word out of his mouth, someone else came down the stairs. "I heard you screaming Sirius's name, Prongs," said Remus. "What's wrong?" He looked around to see doleful faces. "What happened?" he asked more urgently.

"Sirius's Uncle Alphard was killed," said James quietly. "Sirius just left to go to the funeral."

"He was killed?" repeated Remus, dreading James's explanation.

"By Death Eaters," said James.

Remus winced. "I just hope Sirius doesn't do anything rash." James nodded.

Hermione, at the moment, felt completely lost. First of all, who was this Uncle Alphard? He wasn't on the Black Family Tree back at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, but then again, a few names looked as if they had been blasted off. Also, was Sirius's Uncle an Auror? Is that why he died?

"I wish I could go with him," said James, gazing at the portrait hole.

"Why didn't you?" asked Remus.

"A Potter going to a Black funeral isn't the best idea, is it?" said James sourly. "And besides, I think Sirius needs some time alone, or at least with some blood relatives."

"Like who?" asked Remus bitterly. "I wouldn't be surprised if Sirius was one of few who attended."

"The Tonks will be there," explained James. "They are the ones organizing the funeral. They have a little girl several years old, too, named her something like Nymphsgalore." (Remus left out a tiny chuckle.) "Sirius will get to meet her."

"Let's hope," said Remus. He glanced to his left to find Hermione staring intently at her shoes. "Do you know who Sirius's Uncle is?" Hermione shook her head. "But you know that Sirius doesn't get along with his family, right?" Hermione nodded. "Well, Uncle Alphard and Sirius had the same set of ideas. They were both against all this pureblood nonsense. So, naturally, Sirius and his Uncle got along great and weren't so friendly to their other relatives."

"And now Sirius is probably feeling that he has lost the last of his blood relatives," said James.

All three stood in a dead silent triangle, their eyes darting from one to the other. Without saying it, they knew they were thinking the same thing: What a horrible way to end Christmas Day.

* * *

_Flashback _

"Is there any way to speed up the process of making and getting the Life-Alter?" Harry asked Dumbledore.

"Do you feel that you need to leave sooner?" asked Dumbledore. "Because if that's what you feel, you and Hermione can always be sent away from Hogwarts until it's ready, if it is necessary."

"No, that won't be necessary," said Harry. "It's just that… being in this time is becoming a bit too…"

"Painful?"

Harry looked at Dumbledore, taken aback at his accuracy. "One could put it that way." Harry sighed. He couldn't do this while standing, so he finally sat down in the chair Dumbledore had offered him at first. Immediately, Harry felt better about talking to Dumbledore. "I know what is going to happen to people here in the future. There are people I know that are going to die by my real time. Can't I prevent it from happening?"

"I'm afraid that I cannot use any information you give me dealing with the future, nor can you give it to anyone else here," said Dumbledore solemnly. "It will shape the future, no doubt about that, but into what? You must understand that one death can help the world."

"I understand better than you would think," mumbled Harry.

Sirius arrived at the funeral on time, though it didn't look like it at first. There was hardly anyone there. A handful of people were some of Uncle Alphard's friends and coworkers. The only relatives there were Andromeda and Ted Tonks, with their little girl, Nymphadora. Sirius walked over to them.

"Am I early?" asked Sirius quietly.

"No, Siri," said Andromeda with a slight smile. "You're right on time." She hugged Sirius. He hugged her back. Both looked quite similar in some ways. They each had the Black aristocratic look, though there was a hint of rebel in them. Andromeda had her beautiful black hair tied up in a messy bun. "How is my favourite cousin doing?"

"I've been better," said Sirius truthfully. "And yourself?"

Andromeda smiled. "This little one has been giving me a little trouble." She patted the hair of a young girl standing beside her. The girl, only six or seven years old, had brown, curly hair with stunningly blue eyes. As soon as Nymphadora looked at Sirius, though, her hair turned a sleek black and her eyes turned into pure grey orbs: she was an exact younger female version of Sirius. "Yes, she's a little Metamorphmagus. Every time she meets someone new, she changes her appearance. Isn't that right, little Nymphadora."

"Well, I think she's adorable," said Sirius, ruffling up the young girl's black hair. Nymphadora smiled.

"Oddly enough, she doesn't respond often to her name," said Andromeda offhandedly. The young girl, as soon as her mother turned away, stuck out her tongue in disgust. Sirius caught this and chuckled quietly.

Ted Tonks moved towards the two Blacks. "Sirius, how have you been?" He stuck his hand out. Sirius shook it. He had always liked Ted; maybe because his marriage to Andromeda angered his parents, but also he was a real nice man who you could trust. Unlike his wife, he had curly brown locks and a cheerful round face, though his smile didn't meet his eyes. He had been a good friend to Sirius's uncle. Ted turned to his wife, though still talking to Sirius and the two Tonks. "The Priest is ready to start."

Andromeda nodded and walked away. Nymphadora waited for Sirius before walking after her mother. The little girl held out her hand, hoping Sirius would take it. Smiling half-heartedly, he did.

A few meters in front of him lay an opened casket, and inside was a middle-aged man with velvety black hair. Sirius had to bite back a tear.

* * *

_Flashback_

"It's not just changing the future, Professor Dumbledore, it's difficult just to be living here," said Harry.

"How so?" asked Dumbledore. "Anything specific?"

"I know some people here from the future," explained Harry. "So, naturally, I tend to be around them a lot… as friends. It's just that I can't—be friends with them here, can I?"

"I'm afraid not."

"I want to help them, give them my advice, stop them from doing something stupid, help them through their pain. But every time I get the chance to do that, I know I'm violating the time-traveler's rules."

"Like how Sirius's uncle died?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yeah—wait, what?"

"Sirius's uncle just passed away a couple days previous," said Dumbledore. "I am guessing that Mr. Black is at the funeral as we speak. And it's times like these that you want to be there for him, but you can't. You can't be there to help him through this, because that is the job of those around you that belong in this time."

"Exactly," sighed Harry.

* * *

"It's not fair," growled Sirius as he walked through the secret passage leading to Hogwarts. The funeral had gone well, though nobody else showed up. At the moment, Sirius was furious, not grieving. "It's not fair that he dies and my scum of a family lives. Uncle Alphard was a good man, he stood up for many people. Why did he have to die!"

Sirius reached the stairs that lead to the one-eyed witch. "No one even showed up! No even his own mother! And what about my mum, or my dad, or even my little prat of a brother? Why weren't they there? Are they just that spiteful that they can't show some respect? I bet you anything it was Black relative that killed him…"

Sirius opened the door, not bothering to check if anyone was there. He ripped off James's Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it into his pocket. He marched down the corridor, stamping his feet in fury. He could hear the patter of what sounded like two pairs of feet walking towards him. Seconds later they came into view: Severus Snape and Regulus Black.

A fire rose up inside Sirius, one that he had not felt all this year. Seeing Snape and Regulus made Sirius want to curse them into oblivion, make them pay for their existence. Sirius just realized that he had not given them a good hex so far that year. Sure, he had pranked them, but nothing too serious. (Was it because of Hermione always holding him back?) It was about time Sirius let out that fire again.

Sirius whipped out his wand before Snape and Regulus even had a chance to blink.

Minutes later, Snape and Regulus were hanging from the ceiling by a bunch of strings, just like a marionette would. They were clad in only hot pink underpants. Both Slytherins were bald with hex marks scarring their pale skin. They even had a few bleeding cuts slashed across their delicate skin. Sirius stuffed his wand in his back pocket and continued to walk down the corridor. As he paced down the hall, he half shouted, half growled to the two Slytherins, "Have a _happy_ Christmas."

* * *

_Flashback_

"I feel like I'm walking on glass, Professor. I always need to be careful with what I say, act, do…. It's getting worse and worse, too. I can't keep this up, and I don't think Hermione can either." A notion sparked in Harry's mind. "Professor, sir, have you ever dealt with time-travelers before?"

"Now that you've mention it, I have, Harry," said Dumbledore with a crooked smile. "I, myself, used a Time-Turner when I was a student here. I tried to take as many classes as possible. I kept it going for two years."

"What made you stop?" asked Harry. He was surprised at first to hear this, but realized that Dumbledore was probably the top students in all of his classes, just like Hermione, and would therefore strive for only the highest standards.

"It became a bit trickier to hide it from my friends and classmates," said Dumbledore with a twinkle shining in his bright blue eyes. "Sometimes I would forget to go to one class, or almost ran into myself. It was quite a difficult task."

"I think I know what you're saying," mumbled Harry. "But didn't you worry a lot? Didn't you feel that it might not have been worth it?"

"Oh, I did realize that at the end, hence why I gave up time-traveling by my fifth year."

"You didn't mistakenly change anything about the future, did you?"

"Dear me, no," laughed Dumbledore. "The Ministry of Magic would have taken my Time-Turner straight away if I had."

"What if, by just being here, Hermione and I are changing how others around us act?" panicked Harry after a deep silence between him and the Headmaster. "It seems as if a few of my classmates have started to respond differently than they would have if we were not here. They have lightened up on some things, have stronger feelings for other things…."

"Harry," said Dumbledore, "I knew I would be risking this by letting you stay here. It's a gamble that I am willing to take."

"But I might not," said Harry, respectfully lowering his eyes.

* * *

Hours after he left, Sirius marched back into the Gryffindor common room. While on his way to the Gryffindor Tower, he had ran into some Slytherins, and every single one he met was now in a painful or embarrassing situation and could not be freed. Every time Sirius hit them with a hex, he let out a hollow laugh. To say in short, Sirius did not deal with death well.

"Sirius, you're back," said James, relieved. He, along with Remus and Hermione, was sitting by the fireplace. They had been waiting for Sirius the entire time, and had bags under their eyes to prove it. James stood up and hugged Sirius, clapping his friend on the back. "Was it all right?" James let Sirius sit in his chair.

"Of course not," snapped Sirius. "It _was _a funeral." He sighed. "Andromeda was there. You remember her, don't you? I haven't seen her since her wedding. We talked for just a little bit. Even little Nymphadora was there." He glowered at the rug. "But no other relatives came."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" said James, sensing his friend's vehemence. "That means that they weren't there to mess everything up. It's better to show no sign of disrespect than blatant contempt."

"I guess so," mumbled Sirius. He let out a frustrated growl. "Why do I have to be a part of such a dysfunctional family?"

"Don't think of it like that," said James. He paused searching for the right words to comfort his friend. "Think of us as your family. Forget about your parents who never cared for you. Forget about your brother who is a perfect example of an arse. Me, Remus, and Peter are your family now."

Sirius's solemn face cracked into a weak smile.

Hermione, sitting in a chair next to Remus, could not remember when she felt more like an intruder. She never felt more like she didn't belong, which she didn't. She knew she shouldn't be there at the common room. She knew she shouldn't be helping Sirius feel better. She knew that she should leave it to James and Remus. She knew she was bending the time-traveler's rules. She didn't care. _Toss aside the rules for once, Hermione…. This boy in front of you is going to go through an immense amount of pain in the next twenty years… including death. The least –you can do is cheer him up before it all happens. Makes the pain less painful…. _

Hermione was about to lean forward and lay a comforting hand upon Sirius's arm. The reaction around was immediate. James's hazel eyes squinted warningly towards Hermione. Remus made to stop her, trying to reach her arm before it touched Sirius. But what startled Hermione the most was Sirius's response.

Sirius's head was hanging limply on his shoulders, his black hair a veil to his face, except for his eyes. They had shone with the beginnings of tears. His face had held no expression but sadness. The moment Hermione moved towards Sirius, however, it was as if he was another person. His head snapped upwards with a jerky movement. With every trace of a tear gone, his eyes caught the firelight in their grey depths, seeming as if they belong to the devil himself. His face was stone cold, his fury was back.

"Why didn't you tell me?" said Sirius, barely opening his mouth. Hermione did not like the tone he was using: accusatory. He kept his eyes locked onto hers. When Hermione did not answer, he asked again, only this time he yelled it out. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME MY UNCLE WAS GOING TO DIE?" Sirius shot straight out of his chair. His knuckles were white from clenching his fists so hard.

* * *

_What came next?_ Thought Harry. He blinked, and as soon as his eyes opened, he was shocked to find himself sitting outside in the rain. He looked at his feet. They were resting on a slab of stone. _Where am I? _he asked himself. Once he saw his surroundings, he recognized them as the entryway to Hogwarts. _How long have I been here?_ Was his next thought.

_What came next?_ Harry retraced his visit to Dumbledore. Suddenly, he remembered as he gazed at the Whomping Willow. Even at the time, Harry was surprised he had brought it up with Dumbledore. It wasn't even a thought that Harry had shared with Hermione. Speaking of Hermione…. Harry probably should talk to Hermione about his chat with Dumbledore. She would want to know.

With the heaving motion of lifting a few hundred pounds, Harry stood up from his dead cold seat. He was drenched to the bone. Whispering a quick drying spell, he quickly walked inside.

What he had mentioned to Dumbledore next scared Harry. He hoped with all his might it would not happen any time soon. As he walked all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, Harry had to focus hard to keep his mind off of it.

Surprisingly enough, as Harry stood outside the portrait of the Fat Lady, he heard shouting inside. "Procyon," spoke Harry to the Fat Lady. She let him in without a glance, for she was too busy plugging her ears. At one glance of the scene inside, Harry ran over to the Marauders and Hermione.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME MY UNCLE WAS GOING TO DIE?" shouted Sirius towards Hermione. Harry noticed his knuckles were a furious white. "YOU COULDN'T TELL ME THAT?" Sirius breathed heavily from his nose. "HE WAS LIKE MY FATHER! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LOSE A FATHER?"

"What's going on?" asked Harry, though he had a very good idea of what was going on. Sirius rounded on him. Harry took a step back. He had never seen his handsome, godfather's face filled with such hurt and grief.

"YOU!" spat Sirius. "YOU STAY HERE, HAVING FUN WITH YOUR DAD WHILE INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE DYING?" He sputtered for words. "HOW—HOW YOU DO LIVE WITH YOURSELF, KNOWING THAT YOU COULD HAVE SAVED INNOCENT LIVES?"

Harry didn't have anger towards his godfather for blaming him. He knew exactly what Sirius was going through. Harry himself had gone through a similar predicament with Dumbledore at the end of his third year. Harry knew Sirius had every right to shout. He just wandered when the violence would kick in.

"YOU SON OF A—!" roared Sirius. He stalked towards Harry, pulled back his fist, and let it fly, landing swiftly on Harry's cheek. Harry's feet flew out beneath him, landing gracefully on his back. Harry did not get up, but just closed his eyes. "I COULD HAVE SAVED HIM! I could have saved him… I could have…." James stepped up as soon as Sirius hit his son. He made for Sirius's arm, but the furious Black just tore it out of reach. "DON'T! Just… don't…." Sirius looked horrified at Harry, who still had his eyes forcefully shut, before darting out of the room, up to his dormitory.

James walked over to Harry who had not moved since he was punched. "Harry?" James held out his hand.

"Help him," said Harry weakly. His eyes remained dormant. "He needs your help more than I do."

James nodded, then nodded to Remus. Their eyes met; Sirius couldn't be alone right now. He needed the Marauders, he needed his best friends. Remus and James, uncertainly, left Harry and Hermione and the warmth of the Gryffindor common room and walked nearer to the cold, black grief. Remus, last to enter the staircase, looked back at Hermione, who was walking over towards Harry. His eyes were doleful and full of sympathy. He, then, turned towards the stairs, ready to help his friend.

Hermione kneeled next to Harry.

"Are they gone?" asked Harry, eyes tightly shut.

"Yes."

He opened his eyes to show they were sparkling with wetness. He sat up.

"Harry, did you know that Sirius's uncle was going to die?" Hermione asked quietly. She was slightly off-colour and her eyes had a pinkish tint.

Harry took a moment before answering. "Before our fifth year, at Grimmauld Place, Sirius showed me his family tree. The name Alphard was not on there, but Sirius… had mentioned that his Uncle Alphard had left him a 'decent bit of gold'… I could only assume that it was from his will. But… yes, I knew. Not the exact date, but I knew."

"Oh, Harry," cried Hermione, flinging herself around Harry. "This is horrible, perfectly horrible. And what Sirius said! I'm so sorry, Harry. I can't believe—"

"Don't be sorry, Hermione," grunted Harry. He tried to sit up, though the brown, bushy-haired blob on top of him was making it difficult. "He had every right to be angry…" He looked solemnly up at Hermione.

"What is it, Harry?" asked Hermione, sensing something.

"I—I went to see Dumbledore, just awhile ago. I needed to talk to someone… about time traveling. We were talking about risks, and eventualities that were not too far away…."

* * *

_Flashback_

"Professor Dumbledore, sir, there is one thing that I fear will happen in only a short amount of time."

"What is that, Harry?"

Harry hesitated. He had not told this concern to anyone, not even Hermione. But the moment Harry looked into those crystal eyes staring through the half-spectacles, he knew he could trust the man in front of him. "Bad things will happen in this time, that is a given. But what I'm afraid of is… people who know I'm a time-traveler could start to… blame unfortunate events upon me being here, or saying that I could have changed it."

Dumbledore bowed his head, resting his mouth on his steepled fingers. He did not speak for a long time. His eyebrows furrowed, his mouth turned lopsided and wrinkly, and his eyes, for only a split second, lost their sparkle. Harry, feeling he was staring a hole into his headmaster's head, turned his gaze towards an adjacent window. The sky was painted with light grey clouds, bearing the heavy burden of a downpour. He could see little animals scurrying for cover; they sensed the rain, too.

"Harry," Dumbledore said softly, barely speaking above his raspy whisper. "You must understand that when you and Miss Snicket entered my office that September afternoon for the very first time, I had to make a choice: Do I send you to a hidden place, let you be in contact with no one until we could send you both back, _or_ give you the chance to live here, your home. I knew that the latter had too many risks, maybe too many for a sixteen year old to handle. But when you and Hermione walked into my office, your heads held high, your eyes carrying scars not normally held by teenagers," Dumbledore's face cracked into a admiring smile, "I knew. I knew I could trust you two. Both of you have proven yourselves to be stronger than the average student." Dumbledore, still holding his smile, gave a heavy sigh." Difficult times lie ahead, Harry. Now you must choose between what is right, and what is easy. You have made correct judgments before and I have _faith _that you will continue to do so."

Harry looked at his Headmaster. Dumbledore's face beamed with a sincere, crooked smile.

* * *

Sirius was pacing at top speed around the sixth year boys' dormitory. He occasionally went to kick something, which he regretted seconds later. The door slowly open, giving a creak that would send shivers up anyone's back.

"Go away," growled Sirius, who hadn't even looked up to see who it was. He continued to pace.

"We want to help," said James loudly. Sirius let out a deadened snort before pacing once again.

"My advice—" said Remus quietly, but faltered at his friend's glare. "My advice," Remus repeated, "is to stop pacing. You'll wear a hole in the floor." He daringly shot a smile at his friend. In reply Remus received a slight twitch of the mouth from his friend. Sirius flopped heavily down onto his bed, his heart dragging him down further into the warm sheets. James sat on the bed opposite of his friend. He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees.

"Sirius," James said quietly. It was a few moments before Sirius looked up. "Tell us what's really bothering you, will you?"

"You don't know what it's like to lose someone as close as a father, do you?" snapped Sirius, whipping his downwards again so his hair shadowed his face.

"I know how it feels to lose close family, Sirius," warned James with an edge. "If you remember correctly, a whole horde of Death Eaters killed off half of my mum's family all in one go. I think I can relate to your situation a little bit, don't you?"

Sirius looked up at James almost apologetically. "I'm sorry, Prongs. I forgot."

"Obviously," James said sharply. A great deal of his relatives had been murdered by Death Eaters just the summer previous. He had gotten over it after time passed, but as death always does, it left a deep and painful scar. James's face lightened up a little once a few moments had passed. "But honestly, Padfoot, what's bothering you?"

"My Uncle died," said Sirius hollowly. "Sure, he was my favourite relative, once I accidentally called him 'father', but that's not it. It's the fact that he was _stolen _from me by my own flesh and blood, my own family." His rage was building up inside of Sirius again. "I just _know_ that it was a Black behind that mask," he growled, referring to the masks Death Eaters were always wearing.

"So what?" asked James. "Does it matter if it was your cousin or your aunt? What matters is that _you_ didn't fall into that side of your family. You and your Uncle did the right thing by leaving the Blacks. Unfortunately, their was a risk in doing so."

"Well there shouldn't be," cried out Sirius.

"Padfoot," said Remus, entering into the conversation, "we could go through the entire list of "should and shouldn't's" but it would make no difference. Things won't change because we wish them unfortunately."

Sirius sighed. "I know, I know."

"Remember the good memories of Uncle Alphard," said Remus gently, "not his death. "You know he was a good man. From what I've seen and heard, he would have wanted to go down fighting the good fight, which he did. And that's what is important. Not who did this, or who didn't do that…"

"Harry and Hermione have as much blame as the murderer himself," retorted Sirius. At that remark, he flipped backwards over his head so he was completely inside his bed frame, and shut the curtains closed with a snap.

James, however, did not takes this comment lightly. "You don't mean that do you?" he asked immediately. Both he and Remus looked upon Sirius's still bed with apprehensiveness dancing in their eyes. No answer came from Sirius. Although they could not see it, Sirius's expression faltered, his eyebrows lifting the hatred off. James and Remus continued to wait for an answer, though they didn't expect one from their slightly arrogant and stubborn friend. They sat waiting.

* * *

_Flashback _

After what seemed like hours of conference, Harry got up from Dumbledore's chair. He felt drained and parched following their discussion, but something was different. Harry had a fire lit inside of him and no one could put it out. Its sparks ignited inside him, causing him to quickly whip around towards the Headmaster. Dumbledore, startled by this, sat back down in his seat from which he had been slowly rising from.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir," Harry said without hesitation. He leaned against the back of the chair he had previously been occupying. "I know the process of making and obtaining a Life-Alter takes a long time. And I know that it should be ready within the next two to eight weeks. But it seems as if those risks we were talking about are becoming graver and graver as we speak. Someone in the future might take advantage of my absence, and I know I can't tell you any more," Harry said hurriedly, seeing as Dumbledore had opened his mouth. "I know how my being here will affect the future, and it's not good. What I'm trying to say is…" and his next words came out more of a demand than anything," We _need_ to get back to the future. _Now_."

* * *

To all of my reviewers:

I'm sorry it's taking me a month to update. Things are a bit hectic, but also, it's summer, so I'll start to be lazy. I hope to update again before **Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince** comes out. So please. Be patient.

w0rthy0fluv: Hermione found Sirius flying the paper around funny because it's Sirius trying to impress her. Girls tend to do that, don't they?

StarStruck: Multiple sites have now posted an interview with J.K. Rowling saying that James Potter was a Chaser for the Gryffindor team. The movie was wrong (as it usually is).

Pixelfish: Hearing Draco snickering in the back of a classroom was like a metaphor. They were just so used to hearing the little Slytherin prat snickering all the time that it was etched into their brain. They didn't actually hear it.

Whatever: GOOD CATCH! I never even noticed that I typed Granger instead of Snicket. This is one of those Mark Evans incidences. I'm sorry. My mistake.

To all my American readers:

Happy Birthday, U.S.!

To all my French readers:

In ten days, Happy Bastille-Day!

To all my Canadian readers:

A late Happy Canada Day!

To all my Norwegian readers:

A late Happy Independence from Sweden!

To all my other readers:

Happy Monday!

To all my readers who are twelve hours ahead of me:

Happy Tuesday!

To all my alien readers:

Welcome to Earth! Please don't be a Vogon and blow us up! Besides, your poetry is awful.


	30. Chapter 30: The Potter Problem

I do not own anything that somebody else owns.

* * *

**Chapter 30: The Potter Problem**

It was a quiet morning on Boxing Day when the sun's rays first shone into the boys' dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. Three boys were fast asleep. One was missing. After James and Remus left to comfort their grieving friend, Sirius, and after Hermione left Harry a few hours later to go to bed, the Boy Who Lived had not been seen since. Harry hadn't returned to the dormitory, but the common room was as empty as a cookie jar left in the care of a six-year-old. No one knew where he went.

One boy woke up several hours later, though he was still the first one awake. He slowly sat upwards, stretching his back and giving a cat's yawn. Scratching his mat of jet-black hair, he looked calmly around. It took him a few moments to realize that he had never had a mat of jet-black hair on top of his head before in his life. He reached up to his head again. It was still there. Next he darted to a mirror. As he looked into it, he saw a small and skinny boy for his age, but still had a sort of muscular build, proving he played sports with a passion. He had knobby knees, a thin face with a longish nose and resting on it was a pair of round glasses. His eyes were brown with flecks of yellow, scarred with the burden of lycanthropy. Once again, he inched his hand up to his hair. He rumpled it up a bit, making it even messier than before. Remus Lupin let out an earsplitting scream.

"JAMES POTTER!"

Ten minutes later, all three boys were wide awake in the dormitory, all arguing with one another. "You said you weren't going to feed us that potion, Potter!" growled Remus in the middle of the pandemonium.

Oddly enough, all of the boys looked the same with some deliberate mistakes. This was so because of James's Marauder Dare he had been given a few days previous. He had been challenged to change all the males in Hogwarts to look like James Potter, with only one thing the same of their original selves. Remus was a perfect example of this: he was an exact clone of James except for his eyes, which were still his own. Sirius, on the other hand, still had his own perfect black hair on top of a James-looking head, which was an odd sight indeed.

James and Remus continued to argue, playfully exchanging insults every now and then. Sirius, however, had his eyes stuck on Harry's empty bed. Troublesome dreams had spoiled Sirius's sleep the previous night. He had been fighting against Harry, though Harry hadn't fought back. He just stood there and placidly took Sirius's punches and hexes. Sirius began to feel regret and sadness as Harry opened his emerald eyes, which shone with baby tears. But as Sirius lowered his wand to help Harry stand on his feet with a steady balance, Harry began to slowly fade away. Sirius, confused and hurt, looked over to his right to see Hermione fading away, too. She had a lonely tear rolling down her fair cheek.

Sirius shook the dream out of his head. It had frightened him at how much he hurt Harry in the dream. But Sirius remembered feeling wretchedness while doing so. He couldn't stay mad at Harry forever. He wasn't even sure if he was furious at Harry and Hermione in the first place. Hermione…. The name struck his heart painfully. For some reason Sirius could not put his finger on, his aching and fury rose higher when he heard the name Hermione than Harry.

"Remus, this is the best you've ever looked in your life," said James cheekily.

Remus's growling snapped Sirius out of his thoughts. Sirius took in a deep breath. He needed to prepare himself for breakfast where he would be seeing Harry and Hermione. What he didn't need the whole school to see was him blowing up at them again at something that was a deadly secret. Sirius had to slip back into that reputation of his. He had to tie on his mask.

"Hate to break it to you, Jamsie-boy," quipped Sirius as he stood up from his bed, "but I'm still the best looking guy in the school." He raked a hand through his silky hair with a cheesy, arrogant grin stretched across his face. "It's all in the hair."

James and Remus caught a fleeting glance before smiling at their friend. "Come on," said Remus. "Let's see all the chaos in the Great Hall we've caused, shall we?"

"Let's," agreed Sirius before they, as one, strolled out of their dormitory.

* * *

Outside the Great Hall was a horde of girls having a fit of giggles. As soon as they saw the Marauders striding towards them (they could recognize the boys by the sight of Sirius's hair), their pitch and volume of tittering rose up a level or two. They all skittered inside eagerly, occasionally sneaking a glance back at the three Gryffindors. James's grin widened as the two other pseudo-Jameses rolled their eyes. 

"Tell me, Prongs," whispered the James with brown and yellow eyes, "did you give the potion to the teachers by any chance? The Headmaster?"

James's response was an even larger grin. Remus groaned. That was a "yes" in James-speak.

As they entered through the grand doors, a James with half-moon spectacles and twinkling blue eyes approached them. He wore a rich purple cloak and buckled boots that were too big for him: he looked as if he had gone digging into his grandfather's old wardrobe. Professor Dumbledore gazed into each of the Marauders eyes for a moment, before settling on the James in the middle. "Mr. Potter," began Dumbledore-in-the-body-of-James.

"Yes," all three chorused.

"I assume that you are responsible for my new birth suit," he continued with a twinkle. "That also includes, of course, the entire male population of the student body at the moment." He stepped aside so that the three Marauders could see the rest of the Great Hall. Sitting down, standing up, eating, drinking, whatever a male was doing, they all looked like James Potter. Some of the boys looked up only to glower at the three Jameses standing by Professor Dumbledore.

"Honestly, I have to tell you, Professor," said James cheekily, "the student body has never looked better."

"As usual, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore with a smile, "meet me in my office at six tonight. There we shall discuss your detention schedule." He turned to the other two Jameses flanking the real Potter's side. "If you feel you had some part to play in this act, you may come also. Let me tell you that since it is still break, no one was hurt, and is quite amusing, the punishments won't be as horrific. However, you will have to sort it out with your classmates. Good luck." And the Headmaster left with a wink.

The three Marauders turned their focus to the mass of angry Jameses buzzing around the table. Girls sitting down watched in anticipation. James, Remus, and Sirius all smiled widely at their classmates before sitting down in their usual spot. All smirked once at each other before digging into their porridge.

Lily and Hermione stalked into the Great Hall moments later. The former was glowing a slight tickle-me-pink in her cheeks from embarrassment, but her eyes held a rage. The latter, however, had a look as if suggesting she was holding in laughter, and finding it just a tad difficult. They sat down across from the three boys, Lily very rigidly, Hermione flimsy from amusement.

"James Potter, you have some nerve," Lily growled as she served herself some kippers.

"What are you on about?" James asked, casting her an innocent look. He turned to Sirius and Remus. "Do you know what she's on about?" The two Jameses shook their heads.

"You haven't done anything out of the norm today, have you?" asked the James with silky hair.

"I don't recall," James answered with a light air.

"You transfigured the teachers!" hissed Lily.

"Lily, I'd advise you not to hiss so loud," James said quietly. "People may think you're a Slytherin."

"Potter!" snarled Lily. James's eyebrows peaked noncommittally. "That Dare did _not_ include transfiguring the staff of Hogwarts! It was just a _handful_ of _students_. This," waving her arms around, "is all males in the entire campus."

"I don't see why you're getting so worked up about this," said James, eyeing the tray of fruit to his left. "I mean, Dumbledore was all right with it."

"He was?" asked Lily weakly, pausing the spoonful of porridge between her bowl and her mouth.

"Yep," said James. He exercised his fingers over the tray, as if tickling something invisible, deciding which fruits to eat. He settled on taking one of each. "He found it amusing," he said with a laugh. "Gave himself a right little chuckle."

"But he didn't mistake a teacher for you, did he?" said Hermione.

"What?" James asked, confused.

"Oh yes," said Hermione with a grin. "As we were walking out of the portrait, someone accidentally bumped into Lily, for he was too busy reading something. Lily thought that it was you who bumped into her, so she got into a fit, going on about personal space. After she finished, the James revealed that he was actually Professor Aylward and had the misfortune of being trapped inside James Potter's body." She cast a glance at Lily, whose eyes were burning a hole straight in James's head. "I never knew her face could turn that pink so fast."

The boys snickered, or at least, James and Remus did. Sirius, in spite of this, was in a sort of trance, his eyes hazed.

As the laughter died down and everyone went back to eating (Lily shooting a glare at James every few moments), Hermione asked Sirius quietly, "Would you pass me the coffee please, Sirius?" Her voice was sweet, but with a bite of worry. She feared that his grudge might last longer than wanted.

Sirius, without looking at the coffee or Hermione, grabbed with container and held it out for her to grab. Slyly, Hermione grasped the mug so that her fingers brushed against his. He looked up. Hermione had on a warm smile. In Sirius's mind flashed a picture of his Uncle Alphard giving him a similar smile. It maddened Sirius, his furious fire leaping up inside him. He jerked out of his seat, threw down his napkin sharply, and stormed out of the Great Hall.

As he left the clattering of plates and murmur of students behind him, Sirius growled at himself. Drawing together his thoughts, he headed straight towards the Entrance Hall. Once reaching them, he shoved the doors open to reveal its beautiful scenery outside. The exterior seemed to belong to a snowglobe. The grounds were coated with a rich, untouched layer of snow. The sky was blue and the sun shone meekly as to not melt the ice and snow. He grunted in response. Sirius walked over to a bench and collapsed down upon it.

_Why am I so angry at Harry and Hermione?_ Sirius let out an audible sigh. _I know they were just following the rules. They had no choice._ But something inside made Sirius change his mind. They were time-travelers. They've already changed history. Why not save one innocent man? A man who was on their side. A man who was loved and presently missed dearly. Why couldn't they have saved him!

A crunch of snow beneath feet reached Sirius's ears. He sat up slightly before turning around to find the culprit. Harry had apparently been standing under a nearby tree for quite some time, and started to walk towards… Sirius or the door? It was difficult to tell. But since he had been spotted, he stopped and looked at Sirius.

"I'm sorry," Harry said timidly. He was five or so meters away from Sirius. "I'm sorry you lost your Uncle. I'm sorry you lost your closest relative." Harry swallowed hard. "I c—can't say I've lost someone that close…." His eyes began to water as he gazed upon the surly Sirius, who had turned his down towards the snow. "But, you must understand," said Harry, almost begging now. "I had no choice. I couldn't tell you _anything_ of the future. His death has greater purposes for along the road. There is a l—light at the end of the tunnel. I—I promise." Harry's words were killing him as he choked them out.

"He was as good as my father," said Sirius hollowly. He abruptly stood up. "I would have risked the future to save him. I would have risked anything and everything just to have him back." He slowly stalked over to Harry, holding a cold gaze. "Listen, Harry _Potter_." He stopped right in front of Harry. The words seemed to have a great affect upon Harry. "If you knew James was going to die in the future, you would risk everything to save him. Sure, it could change the entire future, but at least you would have your ole dad. You know you would do it. Now, picture that. Then you'll know what's going on inside my head. And, of course, the fact that I'm not the time-traveler, but my some of my closest friends are. Think about it." He forcefully bumped into Harry's shoulder as he passed.

Sirius staggered towards the entrance doors without a second glance at Harry. He felt that he had successfully gotten his point across Harry. He could see it in Harry's eyes. But all the same, Sirius felt the tiniest pang of guilt. Before he could recognize his thoughts, a boy with a mat of jet-black hair and glasses came jogging towards him. Sirius forgot for the moment that all the males at the school looked like James. He squinted to verify which boy it was.

* * *

Harry sat alone in the common room on Christmas evening. His hands gently rubbed his cheek. It still stung from Sirius's punch. It had only been a few hours since that confrontation happened. Hermione left Harry just an hour previous. Harry had let her go. He needed to be alone. 

Words echoed inside his head. _Do you have any idea what it is like to lose a father!... How do you live with yourself, knowing that you could have saved innocent lives!_

_I don't. _

Simple as that.

Harry woke up as the common room clock chimed five in the morning. He looked at his surroundings: he was still in the Gryffindor common room. He took a few deep breaths. It was too stuffy in there. He couldn't breathe. He needed to leave. After he snuck upstairs to grab his cloak, he scurried throughout the castle to find a sanctuary, somewhere peaceful and not enclosed.

Harry skipped breakfast. He wasn't hungry. He headed straight outside to the snowy grounds.

_Do you have any idea what it is like to lose a father!... How do you live with yourself, knowing that you could have saved innocent lives!_

He heard a pair of feet crunching snow hours later. A boy with silky, black hair came staggering into the scene. He sat down on the bench heavily. Harry waited a few moments before quietly walking to the entrance doors. He didn't feel in the mood for another row, but his feet were too loud. Sirius quickly turned around and spotted Harry.

Before Sirius even opened his mouth, Harry muttered out a quick but sincere apology. Sirius didn't seem to be pleased with a feeble "I'm sorry," so Harry expanded. He needed to make it convincing. His words were almost killing Harry inside. "There is a l—light at the end of the tunnel. I—I promise." At the end of the tunnel, after friends' deaths, betrayal, twelve years of prison, a caged life, and ultimately death. What kind of light was that?

Sirius didn't take it so well. As Sirius growled his true name, "Harry Potter," Harry winced as though he had been struck. It was as if Sirius was trying to remind Harry who he was exactly, and what his duties were. "If you knew James was going to die in the future, you would risk everything to save him. Sure, it could change the entire future, but at least you would have your ole dad. You know you would do it." Harry's eyes never wavered from Sirius's cold stare. "Now, picture that. Then you'll know what's going on inside my head. And, of course, the fact that I'm not the time-traveler, but my some of my closest friends are. Think about it." He forcefully bumped into Harry's shoulder as he passed. Harry stumbled, and finally collapsed onto the bench when Sirius was a few meters closer to the doors of Hogwarts.

Before Harry had time to process the blow of it all, an image slowly hazed into his mind. It was back in Harry's first year. He was standing in front of a very large mirror. The Mirror of Erised. Harry remembered now that the mirror showed the person's "heart's desire." An eleven-year-old boy was looking into the mirror and saw his family. More importantly, his mother and father, whom he could not remember.

The only thing Harry had wanted so strongly in his life was his parents. He would have given almost anything to be with them once again. And now Harry had his chance. He was stuck in the year 1976 with his parents and their friends. All Harry had to do was slip to James that Peter was the betrayer, and he would have his parents when he arrived back in the future.

But at what cost?

Sirius would be the Potter's Secret Keeper. There was no way he would yield their hideout, even in the face of brutal torture.

Sirius would be hurt.

The Potters would be in hiding for a much longer time period. Although, they wouldn't be able to leave the house for fear of being murdered on the spot. So they would waste months, maybe years hiding in one place, raising Harry.

Lord Voldemort would not be destroyed.

He would not have come after Harry since he didn't know where to look. He would continue to roam around the British Isles, wrecking havoc among the Muggles, Muggle-born, Half-bloods, and another deemed unworthy in his eyes.

The world would go through even more Dark Days.

Voldemort might have even chosen to seek Neville rather than Harry if it all came down to it. Neville might have an identical scar on his forehead and would be called "the Boy Who Lived." Even worse, he might have been killed, and Voldemort would think he won.

James and Lily might die later on anyways. They weren't ones to hide away, waiting for someone to rescue them. They would choose to go out and fight after waiting only for a short time. Harry might lose his parents in an even more painful way.

Was it worth it?

No.

Was it going to eat Harry up from inside out until he died?

Most certainly.

Harry wanted to play the hero one last time; but he wanted it for himself this time. He knew that saving his parents was a selfish thing to do. He knew it. But for a moment, he actually considered it, especially when Sirius said, "If you knew James was going to die in the future, you would risk everything to save him. Sure, it could change the entire future, but at least you would have your ole dad. You know you would do it."

"No," said Harry quietly to himself, though his voice was strong and forceful. "That's what makes me different than you, Sirius. I will not destroy the future, not even for what I desire the most. I'm stronger than that…. This is my ultimate sacrifice."

Several meters away, Sirius was moodily swaggering from the scene towards the warmth of the entrance hall, but stopped when he spotted someone at the door. It was James Potter, or so it looked at a casual glance. Sirius walked slower now in the direction of James. The boy had a scowl on his face, his hazel eyes glowering through tiny slits. It was James Potter.

"How much did you hear?" Sirius asked James when he passed by his stationary friend.

"All of it," said James coldly, catching up with Sirius. As soon as their feet started to stride together, James yanked Sirius's collar along and pulled him into an empty classroom. "What the hell do you think you're doing? That is my son you were just having a go at. He was apologizing for something he couldn't help, and you throw it in his face. I thought I knew you to be better than that."

Sirius grimaced. He spared himself a few moments by fixing his crumpled collar. "Well, technically he's not your son. Not yet. And I know that doesn't matter," Sirius said hurriedly, noting James's glower. "What matters is that he's broken the time-traveling rules before… so why couldn't he have stretched them just a little. It would have saved an innocent life."

"How?" asked James, keeping his growl to a minimum.

"How what?"

"How has he broken the rules?" There was more of a snarl in James's voice now.

"Well, we're not supposed to know that he's from the future, now are we?" said Sirius obviously.

"We're not supposed to know about Remus's furry little problem either," James pointed out aggressively.

"That's different," snapped Sirius.

"How?" asked James again.

"It doesn't matter!" shouted Sirius. "He could have saved lives! But instead, he just prances around school without a care for everyone else in the world. He's too caught up in—"

"Did it ever occur to you that he didn't know when your Uncle was going to die?" interrupted James. "Did you stop to think that he just heard that he died? Maybe he knew about his death in passing, never knowing when the exact day, or even year, it happened. Did you ever think of that before accusing him? Did you think before you opened your mouth and swung your fist? Did you think at all?"

Sirius looked down, ashamed. No, he never put himself in Harry's shoes. He was just too focused on blaming others for the death of Uncle Alphard. It was those stupid Death Eaters' (his relatives) fault. They were to blame, not his friend. He had to tell Harry.

"But you know how bad I'm at apologizing," mumbled Sirius, adverting his gaze to the knocked over rubbish bin.

"More like admitting that you were wrong," said James inaudibly.

"What?" asked Sirius.

"Nothing," answered James quickly. "Listen, if I know anybody who would not rub it in your face, it's Harry… I raised him well, didn't I?" he added, puffing out his chest. Sirius shook his head with a chuckle as he hopped off the desk. As they walked out of the room together, a thought suddenly struck James. "What about Hermione?"

For some reason that he could not even figure out, Sirius scowled.

* * *

"What was happening between you and Sirius this morning?" Lily asked Hermione after breakfast. They had just stepped into the common room moments before and were now huddled by the fireplace with cups of hot cocoa. "He seemed angered, channeling most of it towards you." 

"He—I don't know, honestly," Hermione answered.

"I know his uncle died," said Lily offhandedly, shooting a fleeting, furtive look towards her.

"Do you?" Hermione asked, giving a tone obviously saying that she didn't want to talk about it. Lily did not take the hint.

"But why would he be angry at you and Harry if his uncle died? I mean, you couldn't _possibly_ be blamed for it, could you?"

"I don't think so." Hermione shifted in her seat.

"It's not like you knew it was going to happen," Lily pushed. "It's not like you could have stopped it, is it?"

"What are you saying, Lily?" Hermione asked curiously. Lily knew something.

"Where did you used to go to school before you came here?" Lily asked.

"Durmstrang," Hermione answered.

"Did you have a lot of friends there?"

"A few."

"Really? A Muggle-born going to Durmstrang…" Lily gave a "humph." "And you have memorized _Hogwarts, A History_, have you?"

"Yes."

"And it seems that you and Harry know Hogwarts better than some seventh years, doesn't it?" Lily's eyes were locked with Hermione's now.

"I suppose."

"James never mentioned a twin. Then how come Harry and James look _exactly_ alike?"

"Skipped genes?" Hermione bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Hermione, do you want to tell me something? Something about your past? Or should I say, my future?"

Hermione gasped. "How do you know about that?"

Lily rolled her eyes and smiled at the same time. "_The Marauders_ aren't the only ones who notice things out of place."

Hermione began to worry. "Do you think that anyone else has noticed?"

Lily chuckled. "No, you kept your secret very well. It's just that your closest friends would notice things, wouldn't they? And anyways, as much as I frown upon James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, they are a smart bunch of gits."

"How long have you known?" asked Hermione inquiringly.

"Oh, for a long time," answered Lily, "or at least, I had my suspicions for a while. Since October, I think.

"Wow," breathed Hermione. "How come you never mentioned it before this?"

"Well, I needed a powerful incident to confirm my proposal, didn't I?" Lily shrugged. "With Sirius blaming you and Harry for his uncle's death, I knew I was right." She was trying to steal it away but to no avail: Lily was pleased with herself. "So why are you here?" she asked before she could stop herself. "What brings you back to this year?"

"It was sort of an accident, really," Hermione said, then she sighed. "It's a long story, actually."

"When will you be leaving?" Lily asked.

"Two or so weeks, but Harry says we might be leaving sooner." Hurt leaked into Lily's eyes at Hermione's words.

"Will I ever see you again?"

Hermione gave a lopsided smile. "Only time can tell."

* * *

Harry walked with his shoulders sagged towards the Great Hall with heavy feet. He couldn't see how he could act the same around the Marauders. He was Harry Potter, not Harry Thewler. He was the Boy Who Lived, not just some average kid trying to go through teenagehood. He was no normal boy. 

And he was starving. He hadn't had anything since the Christmas feast, which seemed to have been eons ago. Harry decided that he would quickly stop by the Great Hall, grab a crumpet, avoid eye contact with any people he knew, and run off somewhere to eat in peace, preferably someplace warm.

As Harry was deciding where to munch on his pathetic breakfast, he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror hanging on the wall. At first glance, it seemed perfectly normal. But he did a double-take, and yelped in astonishment. He inched closer, ideas of breakfast slipping away fast. Soon he was mere inches away from his reflected image. It was still the same Harry—black, messy hair; stunningly green eyes; round glasses—except for one change. His lightening bolt scar was missing. Harry ran a finger over where it should have been. Nothing. He couldn't even feel a raise in the skin.

Examining his unscathed forehead, Harry stood there for quite some time, gazing at his forehead from every angle—he just couldn't get enough of seeing his new head. He was mesmerized by it… until his stomach yelled at him for keeping him empty for so long. He gave the mirror one last stare before trotting away.

Harry felt like a new man as he walked (with a bounce in his step!) towards the smell of food and clattering of silverware and plates. Sirius's tirade was in the farthest corners of Harry's mind now. With his scar gone, Harry almost felt like Harry Thewler once again. His scar had always symbolized that he had been a marked man since birth. It was a constant reminder that he was no ordinary boy. Now that he was free from it, it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Harry could breathe freely now.

Just a minute later, Harry was scanning the table to find a familiar face to sit near. At once, he saw at least a dozen mat of jet-black hair occupying the table. _That's right… James's Dare…_ With a smile on his face, Harry searched for bushy brown hair or bright locks of red hair, which he found moments later and walked briskly towards them.

"Good morning, ladies," he exclaimed as he jumped into an empty seat next to them. He laughed at their response: they both stared wide-eyed. "Just in case you can't recognize me, I'm Harry. Remember me? Hello?" They continued to stare as he waved a hand in front of their faces.

"Harry, you look so different!" gasped Hermione at last.

"And here I thought I looked the same as everyone else," laughed Harry.

"Where's your scar?" asked Lily, realizing what was unusual.

"Well, that's the beauty of James's Dare, isn't it?" said Harry. "It allows only one trait of yourself to be the same. I guess the spell chose my eyes instead of my scar." He looked around at everyone else and was surprised to see what they were eating. "Is it lunchtime already?" He began to shovel food on his plate and straight into his gaping mouth.

A short while later, three boys and a girl sat down across from Harry, Lily, and Hermione. The girl could be recognized as Jenny Wesley, the girl who had an unfortunate crush on Harry. Two of the three boys were Sirius and Remus, so one could assume that the third was James except for one detail. The other boy had a lightening bolt scar scratched upon his head!

"Oh Harry, you're so funny!" squealed Jenny, looking at the scarred boy. She turned to the two girls. "Hi Lily, Hermione, and…" She gazed hard at Harry, trying to decipher who he was exactly. As she saw his eyes she faltered. "Harry? But I thought you were Harry," she said uncertainly, pointing to the scarred boy beside her.

Out of the blue, Harry felt someone attacking his arm. He turned to his left o find Lily repeating whacking him with an open palm. "Potter, you idiot! If you keep using this asinine potion to your advantage, I swear you will regret it."

"What!" yelped Harry, now shielding his mad mother with his other arm. "I'm Harry! Can't you tell?"

"What's going on here?" asked James-pretending-to-be-Harry meekly. He had an honestly confused face and even held himself in the way that Harry would. Harry, on the other hand, was sitting up straight and chin out, much like James would. Hence the misunderstanding. "James? Is that you?" James asked Harry.

"This is really funny, Prongs," said Harry, not amused. "Now, tell us who you really are."

"I'm Harry! Honestly!" pleaded James. "Why else would I have a scar?"

Jenny, Lily, Hermione, Remus, and Sirius looked back and forth between Harry and James as if following a tennis rally. All seemed unsure, except Sirius. He could tell exactly who was who. Sirius and James _were_ like brothers. But he wasn't going to spoil his friend's fun.

"I know something you don't know," said Sirius obnoxiously in a singsong voice. "But I'm not telling," he finished with a smirk. All the confused others glared at him before trying to make sense of who was who.

"Damn, you're a good actor," mumbled Lily to herself.

"You're Harry," Hermione said as Lily said, "You're James."

"You got me," both Potter's confessed, holding up their hands. They both laughed in the same way.

"That's just odd," said Remus, referring to their "twinism."

"But—you—" Jenny stuttered. She looked at Harry, and then at James, who was taping his forehead with his wand: the scar disappeared. Suddenly she seemed to swell with anger. "I can't believe you tricked me! That was perfectly awful of you to do so! Pretending to be—not that it matters who—but still, that doesn't mean that you can do—UGH!" With one last look of disgust aimed at James _and _Harry, Jenny shot out of her seat as if it was scalding hot, and stormed out of the Great Hall. Just before she turned the corner, a boy, looking like James, came from behind her and put a comforting arm around her, talking in a concerned air.

"And things are back to normal," sighed Harry.

"Have we ever had normal?" asked James.

"Doubtful," grumbled Lily.

"Ah, normal," said Remus, with an air of commenting on the weather. "How I miss thee."

Sirius looked troubled as he gazed at Harry. "Listen, mate, about what I said earlier…" he said in an undertone as James, Remus, and Lily argued over the school's complete abnormality. Harry anticipated Sirius's apology and cut him short.

"It's all right," Harry said. "If there is anyone who understands what you're going through right now, it's me. You don't have to apologize. Just don't make a habit of it," he finished with a wink.

Sirius smiled to himself as he gulped down his drink. James had been right: It went without much difficulty at all. With a lighter mood sprung upon him, Sirius began to converse happily with his friends once again. The three boys smiled at him: their Sirius was back.

As Sirius told everyone of a joke he over heard Professor Aylward tell the Headmaster, one person's mood definitely darkened. Hermione was hoping now that Sirius had apologized to Harry, things would be set right with Hermione and him. But she appeared to be wrong. Sirius was going out of his way to avoid eye contact and talking to her. Hermione's eyes started to water. She had finally decided to return his affection for her, but seconds later, he found out his uncle had passed away. And afterwards, Sirius had shut himself away. And just as he is welcoming in others, he acts as if nothing had happened! As if their kiss hadn't happened…

"Lily," Hermione quickly said as to not distract the attention of the boys. Sirius, who was laughing at something James said, perked his ears only the slightest bit. "I forgot… I was going to meet with Professor McGonagall. I'll see you later." As Lily nodded, Hermione slowly began to rise. Before she turned to walk away, she shot Sirius one last glance; he was avidly watching James chug a pitcher of orange juice. Hermione speedily walked away, sniffing as she went.

"So what are we going to do today, mates?" James said loudly to his friends as they left the Great Hall. Lily had invented some excuse to leave them soon after Hermione left, so it was just James, Sirius, Remus, and Harry.

"Do we have to do something?" whined Sirius. "I mean, we don't want to overdue it on pranks, do we? It'll look bad on our record."

"Since when do you care about your record?" asked Remus.

"Since I became lazy," pouted Sirius.

"We'll let inspiration hit us, how about that?" said James. Only after he finished speaking did a Quaffle come out of nowhere hit him on the back of his knees, causing him to lose balance and topple over. The three other boys cackled heavily.

"Does inspiration always come in the form of a solid, red ball?" asked Remus as he helped his friend onto his feet.

Seconds after James regained his steadiness, he jumped around in order to search for the culprit. He spotted a guilty-looking boy with messy black hair in Gryffindor robes. "Watch where you're throwing that thing…?"

"McClaggen," said the boy hurriedly. "Kevin McClaggen."

"McClaggen?" repeated James. He turned to his friends. "But didn't McClaggen graduate several years ago?"

"That was my older brother, Padraic McClaggen," interjected little Kevin. "He was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and—"

"I know," said James quickly. He didn't need a full summary of the boy. "Just—be careful when handling that thing, will ya?" He picked up the Quaffle, spun it on the tips of his fingers, tossed it up into the air (still spinning), and caught it in the nape of his neck. Letting it roll off his head, he tossed it back to Kevin, who had his mouth agape, large enough to catch a swarm of billywigs.

"You're James Potter!" exclaimed the second year.

"Last time I checked," said James, examining his fingernails.

"I wanted to try out for the team this year," said Kevin excitedly, (Kevin reminded Harry strongly of Colin Creevey—overexcited, star struck boy.) "but Smirch gave me detention that day for disrupting during her class. Honestly, how is exploding someone else's potion a disturbance?"

"I like this kid," Sirius whispered to Remus.

"Maybe next year, kid," said James with a smile. They started to walk away from Kevin, but James turned around once more and called down the hall to Kevin, who had started to jog away, tossing the Quaffle poorly. "Hey kid!" Kevin turned, excitement glowing in his eyes. "What position do you play?"

"Seeker!" he half yelled. "But my brother thinks I'd be better at Keeper."

"Keep practicing, then!"

"Bye!"

Farther down the hall, James turned to Harry. "I realized a while back that I'll need to be finding a good replacement Chaser once you leave. I could play Chaser and let someone be Seeker, of course. So I've been keeping my eyes peeled."

"And how does one peel their eyes?" asked Sirius, as if he was a therapist talking to his client.

"I thought you already knew that, according what we did to—SNAPE?" yelped James, horrified. He was wide eyed and pointed to a boy walking towards them on the opposite side of the corridor.

It was a horrible sight, indeed: The body and face of James with the hooked nose, greasy hair, cold black eyes, and pallid skin colour of Snape. Apparently, he had been searching for a counter-potion or –spell to reverse the effects. So far, Snape had only retrieved two more of his physical features, making this James Potter look very awkward.

Snape looked at the four boys over his shoulder as he passed them. He didn't recognize them, which was probably for the better. If he had identified them, he would have cursed them to next Tuesday.

"Oh, my eyes!" groaned James as he shut them tightly as Snape was out of hearing range. "My eyes, they burn! Oh, how they burn!" He grabbed Harry around the collar and shook him. "Don't make me see that again! Please! It was horrific! Appalling! Sickening! Gruesome! Just down right wrong!"

"In times like these, I just humor the boy," Remus whispered to Harry. Sirius, however, had his eyes tightly closed to, whispering repeatedly to himself.

Harry smiled and nodded before patting James gingerly on the shoulder. Even so, Harry had to admit that seeing a Potter and Snape blended was an awkward sight.

"Horrendous! Shocking! Ghastly!" James continued for the next seven minutes thinking up synonyms for the word terrible.

"Ok, we get it, Potter," said Harry loudly to shut his father up. "But think of it this way: at least you're not trapped inside Snape's body."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sirius, Remus, and Harry plugged their ears.

Two minutes later: "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHhhhh… Gross," James shivered. "Now I have that mental image stuck in my head. Thanks, Thewler."

"No problem, mate," Harry said, tugging his ears.

While walking aimlessly throughout Hogwarts, the four boys devoted some of their time just to observing those around them and how they reacted to James's Dare. Some of the girls looked as if the exams had been canceled and cluttered around any boy near them. Those boys in the midst of the giggling girls were trying their best to act similarly like the real James Potter, or they were taking advantage or their "good looks" and were wooing girls they'd never had the chance to talk to.

On the other hand, there were those boys who cringing at being in somebody else body, especially James's. They noticed that the population of boys had decreased and Remus pointed out that many would be sleeping through this "horror."

"On purpose!" yapped James. "Why would they want to do that? This is the best they've looked in their life!"

Remus, Harry, and Sirius synchronically looked down at their bodies, looked back at James, and rolled their eyes.

Some of the girls refused to even look at the boys, especially if they had been previously dumped, insulted, or hurt in any way or form by the real James Potter. One couple was arguing off to the side. From what the four boys could hear, Shannon refused to talk to Anthony until he changed back. He tried to solve the problem by kissing her, but she slapped his face and started to run away, sniffling.

"How long is this going to last, Prongs?" Remus asked worriedly as Bertram Aubrey sped past. He had just gotten his head size back to normal when James's Dare hit the school. The boy did not look pleased at his new body.

"Not even a full day," said James airily. "It should be over just a while after dinner, I should say."

"You should," came a voice from behind them. They all whipped around at the same time to spot Bridget Bell, Gryffindor Beater and Sirius's ex-girlfriend. She walked in between Harry and James, though she couldn't tell any apart from each other, and linked arms. "It's safe to assume that you're all Sirius, James, Remus, and Harry, right?" They all nodded with questioning looks. "Sirius's hair gave it away. Anyways, you boys might want to make yourself scarce, especially you, James, wherever you are."

James smiled and waved a hand.

"Cute," laughed Bridget. "But the rest of the school doesn't think so. They're growing to be quite mutinous, boys and girls alike. They are actually on a manhunt right now for your blood, Potter, so it might be a good idea to hide or at least keep your eyes open."

"Manhunt?" repeated James.

"Yes, and there are leaders from each house: Kyle and Keegan from Hufflepuff, Katie from Ravenclaw, Spencer and Dominic from Gryffindor, and, get this, Snape, Regulus, and Callie from Slytherin." Bridget laughed. "It was very comical to watch them 'organize.'"

"My own teammates turned against me," said James in a hollow tone, speaking of the two Gryffindors.

"Mate, the _whole school_ has turned against you," said Sirius, clapping his friend on the back. "I wouldn't take it too personal."

"Well, that's all," said Bridget. "I just wanted to give you all a fair head start before the manhunting begins. Good luck!" She slipped between the two Potters and walked away. As soon as she reached the end of the hall, she shouted out, "And Black! You _might_ want to hide your hair or something like that. It's a dead giveaway."

"Thanks!" said James as she left.

"Is she crazy?" yelped Sirius. "Hide my _perfect_ hair?" At that moment though, Remus was transfiguring something in his pocket into a winter hat that covered most of the wearer's hair. Remus shoved it onto his friend's head seconds later. Sirius slouched. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," answered James, Remus, and Harry immediately. "If it means my life, yes, definitely," continued James.

Sirius begrudgingly tweaked the brick red wool hat so it was on his head properly. "It's itchy," complained Sirius.

Remus rapped Sirius rather violently on the head. It became soft cotton moments later.

"Ta," grumbled Sirius.

"People are beginning to be suspicious," commented Harry after ten minutes of walking around. "They see a group of four boys, acting like Marauders no less, and they begin to stare questioningly at us until we pass."

"Let's split up, gang," said James suddenly, clapping his hands together.

"Who do we look like, Scooby-Doo?" asked Harry touchily.

"Who's Scooby-Doo?" asked the three Marauders.

"Never mind," Harry said hurriedly.

"Me and Harry will go the long way to Gryffindor Tower while you two go the way behind the tapestry," instructed James. "Sound good? Good! See you when we reach it. If there're any problems, use the mirror. You have it, right Sirius?"

"Prongs, this isn't a war, all right? This isn't a takeover. This is us, the Invincible Marauders, going to the Gryffindor Tower." Sirius wretched the hat off his head. "What's the worst they could do to us?"

"You, with the pitchfork, grab that torch will you?" shouted a voice from a corridor behind them.

"We'll see you up there," said Sirius as he jammed the hat back on his head. James and Harry nodded and started to jog to the left. Their jog turned to a run as they competed against the other, which turned into a sprint.

"Aren't they energetic," commented Remus as he and Sirius walked quickly the opposite way.

"Yes, they are," answered Sirius.

"Padfoot, that was rhetorical."

"Oh."

A minute or so later of dodging people in the hall without dragging attention (which Sirius was having personal trouble with), Sirius puffed out, "Do you know what would make this a whole lot easier?"…… That wasn't rhetorical," he added.

"The Marauder's Map?" said Remus.

"Exactly," said Sirius. "Now that Thewler knows, we don't have to hide it from him any more. Maybe he could even help us make it! Because, you know, I'm having just a bit of trouble with my part about the spell that shows who—"

"No," said Remus as he yanked Sirius aside so they wouldn't be seen by someone who looked like Kyle. They both stumbled into an empty classroom. "He can't help us with making the map at all. He can have no part in it."

"Oh, but he's already changed the future," whined Sirius. "And helping us on an extremely difficult task would be nice. He's definitely powerful, especially in Defense."

"I won't allow it," said Remus roughly.

"Won't allow it?" repeated Sirius, baffled. "I'm not sure if it's your place to 'allow' or 'not allow' things to happen around here."

"Harry will agree with me and you know it. It's too dangerous. With Harry and Hermione being as your uncle died was close enough."

"_Don't_ mention her name," growled Sirius.

"Hermione's?" Remus asked, thoroughly confused.

"Yes."

"Why not?"

Sirius sighed. "Not right now. Perhaps another time." He headed for the door.

"There's no better time than the present, is there?"

"Present." Sirius gave a hollow chuckle. "Are we the present? The way Harry and Hermione call us the past, I don't know. Do you know what people say about the past? Been there, done that. I don't want to be a 'been there, done that.' I want to be remembered."

"This isn't about your Marauder legend, is it?" Remus sighed too. "You're talking about Hermione, aren't you?"

"Call me hypocritical—"

"Okay, you're hypocritical," said Remus. He smiled at his friend.

"_But_," continued Sirius with a hint of a grin, "I don't want to be tossed aside once this is over and never be thought of again. I know I've done that to a lot of girls here over the past couple of years, just thinking of them as a trophy, but knowing now what that may feel like, I deeply regret it."

"She won't forget you, Padfoot," said Remus. "Trust me. No one could forget you, not even the most powerful Memory charm could get rid of you. You're stuck with us." He nudged his friend and started to walk in the direction of the door. "Cheer up, mate. It'll get better. But only if you start talking to her again."

"I don't think I can do that," Sirius spoke softly.

"Why not?" asked Remus as he wretched the door open.

But as the door opened, a crowd of angry teenagers blocked their exit.

"Er…Hello," said Remus. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but you are jamming up the only way out. Now if you could just move aside a little, that would be excellent." He waited calmly, hands folded behind his back, and slowly rocking back on his heels and forward to his toes repeatedly. Sirius looked at him and laughed. There were some times where Remus's behavior was too similar to a teacher's.

"Is it James?" called someone out in the crowd.

"No…"

"It's Remus!"

"Rats!"

_Werewolf, actually_, thought Remus and Sirius simultaneously.

"Are you sure?"

"For quite some time, actually," answered Remus.

"But… isn't that Sirius?" asked a boy in front with red hair who turned out to be Kyle.

"Now _that_ I'm rather sure of," said Sirius.

"So then where's James?" growled Kyle aggressively. Apparently the angry mob had assumed that where Sirius was, James was. James had already assumed their assumption, hence why he had split himself and Sirius apart. Sirius thanked his friend silently in his head at the moment. James sure knew how to dodge a horde of very cross students.

Both Remus and Sirius shrugged in unison.

"He's somewhere in the castle, I know that," said Remus.

"Actually," interjected Sirius, "I heard him tell Thewler that he was going to hide out at Hagrid's."

"All right, you heard him," yelled out Kyle. "Half of you go down to the gamekeeper's hut and the rest will search this side of the castle. They can't've gone too far." Following the Hufflepuff's orders, the group split up and went their opposite ways.

"That was all too easy," chuckled Sirius.

"Poor Hagrid, though," laughed Remus.

"We'll give him a horribly dangerous animal and beg for forgiveness," said Sirius, waving his hand as if it was a common thing to do.

Meanwhile…

"How long is this 'long way' you speak of?" asked Harry as James turned around yet another corner. It had been just short of a half-hour since they parted from Sirius and Remus. "We're closer to the dungeons that to Gryffindor Tower!" exclaimed Harry as he spotted a certain painting. "Hold the phone," he said abruptly.

"Phone? You mean that thing that Muggles talk into that can make crackly sounds?" asked James as he looked carefully down a tangent corridor. "I don't have one on me. Sorry, mate," he added with a grin.

"You're leading me to the kitchens, aren't you?" demanded Harry.

James looked sheepish. "Well, I'm feeling a bit peckish, to tell you the truth. Oh, don't look at me like that," he added after glancing at Harry. "It's automatic by now. I'm near this corridor and I automatically go for the kitchens. It's like—"

"You're on autopilot?" suggested Harry.

"I was going to say that it's natural by now… What's autopilot?"

"Never you mind," sighed Harry. "Just get your food and we'll be on our merry way, all right?"

"You've never had a better plan," said James, giving a toothy grin.

Seven minutes later the two Potters exited from the kitchen, their arms laden with sweets of all sorts and many bottles of butterbeer. For quite some time they didn't meet anyone while on their way to Gryffindor Tower. James and Harry took every detour they could think of and once or twice James found a few new ones. It was only until they had reached the floor of the Fat Lady when Hermione came running down the corridor. She saw two boys carting piles of food and drinks and had almost dismissed them as non-Marauders; that is, until she saw Harry's eyes.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, jogging the rest of the way to catch up with the two Potters.

"_Shhh!_" they hissed in chorus, afraid that they might blow their cover when so close to home base. "What is it?" Harry asked when Hermione had caught up with them.

"It's Dumbledore," she gasped, holding a stitch in her side. "You are really hard to track down, you know that?"

"Well, my job is done then!" said James brightly. "We were trying to hide from the angry mob that's out to get me," he explained shortly seeing Hermione's confusion.

"What about Dumbledore?" asked Harry.

"He wants to see us," Hermione said, trying to pass it off as a casual comment, but her inflection in her voice gave it away; she was as excited and worried as Harry was.

"Oh," said Harry, failing to mask his feelings horribly, too. "Okay… right now?" Hermione nodded. Harry looked at James, whose eyebrows were furrowed. "Here, take this," Harry handed him the sweets; James stumbled, opening and closing his mouth in uncertainty. "And tell Remus not to eat all the chocolate. I'll be back soon."

"Good luck!" James called out, finding his voice, as Harry and Hermione turned the corner. Harry's hand gave a wave of thanks and worry before he disappeared completely. James sighed, his shoulders sagging, before turning to Gryffindor Tower once more, his load of rations doubled.

"Did he say what he wanted?" asked Harry after he waved good-bye to James.

"It was Professor McGonagall who told me of his request," said Hermione. "And no, she didn't say. Oh Harry, I'm so confused! Part of me wants the Life-Alter to be found, and another wants it to be lost forever."

"I know exactly what you mean," sighed Harry.

They remained silent for the rest of the journey. They were too focused on what Dumbledore wanted, and if it would be considered good news or bad news. The only word that escaped their mouths was "Acid Pop," for the password at the gargoyle. It leapt aside. Both time-travelers stepped onto the moving staircase. They stood outside Dumbledore's office's doors, took a deep breath, and knocked.

"Come in!" called a cheery voice from inside.

* * *

"Where are they?" asked Sirius impatiently. He stopped pacing, grabbed Remus's wrist, glanced at his friend's watch, threw Remus's hand down, and continued to pace. After a few minutes Sirius stopped again and asked what was on everyone else's mind. "They wouldn't leave without saying good-bye, would they?" His mind was split into two halves at the moment. One wanted to apologize to Hermione, kiss, and make up. But the other was heated at her still and didn't care if she had left (which was untrue, deep down). But no matter which half it was, he was livid at himself for being such an idiot towards her. 

"Black, would you _please_ stop pacing," snapped Lily irritably. "You're just making things worse."

Sirius turned with an incredulous look slapped on his face to look toward James. James shrugged. Sirius, infuriated with friend at the moment, whipped his head back to face Lily. "Look, Evans, when you came barging in _our_ dormitory, nattering about Hermione going to Dumbledore, we were curious as to how you knew such things. But once we found out that you knew about Harry and Hermione's… past, your welcome was worn out."

"Padfoot," said James in a quiet but warning tone.

"No, Prongs," said Sirius forcefully, never taking his eyes off of Lily. She kept his gaze at equal heat. "She doesn't have any right to be here right now. She's just here so she can get the scoop first and tell all her little friends about it behind our backs."

James made to stand up but Lily got to him first. She slapped him on the face not too hard. "Stop thinking so highly of yourself and so lowly of every one else," growled Lily. "I am here to comfort a traumatized friend. You're just hoping to get in one snog before she leaves."

"Now that's enough," yelled James, jumping between Sirius and Lily, for Sirius had made a move to hex her. With one hand on Sirius's chest and the other holding Lily's wrist, James said clearly, "Put your wands away. _Now_. This fighting is no good. Sirius, calm down. I'm sure everything is fine. They won't have left yet. Lily…" James lost his thread for a moment. "Please sit down."

With one last mutinous glare, Sirius and Lily stepped away from James and sat in opposite corners of the boys' dormitory. James sighed. He looked at Remus, who had started to pull out his wand and was now hastily stuffing it away. They shared a knowing glance: never put Sirius and Lily into the same room again, especially when the tension was too thick to begin with.

"Aaahhh! What's taking them so long?" cried out Sirius after twenty more minutes of silent waiting.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. They all looked at each other before Remus stood up and opened the door. Harry and Hermione stepped in. First, they were surprised to see Lily sitting on Peter's empty bed. Lily and James stood up, too, the moment the two time-travelers stepped in. Sirius had remained seated.

"Looks like the whole gang is here," mumbled Harry. He and Hermione stood awkwardly in front of the closed doorway.

"How was Dumbledore?" asked James conversationally, masking his anxiousness.

"He's fine," muttered Harry. "He wants me to remind you that you missed your meeting about your detentions for your dare. He said forget about it. It was too amusing to put in record anyway."

"Isn't that peachy. So… does he still have those silver ornaments all over the place?"

"Yep."

"Oh, stop with the suspense already," rumbled Sirius. Harry and Hermione jumped. They had forgotten Sirius in the corner and hadn't expected him to talk, just to be quietly moody. "And tell us what Dumbledore had to say."

Harry and Hermione shared a fleeting glance before Hermione opened her mouth. Harry was looking sadly between Lily and James, biting his bottom lip. Remus looked down at his feet, which were scuffling the floor timidly. As Hermione spoke (her tone heartrending), she looked directly at Sirius, and no one else. He gazed straight back at her. "We should be traveling back to our own time within the next two days."

* * *

Didn't expect that, did you? 

Yes… Maybe I should have given all you lovely readers out there a heads up… The end is _very_ near. I will say nothing more… because I do not know anymore. I'm really making this up as I go along.

Sorry this chapter took a while to put up. I've had to endure many hours of football (soccer) in the past month, although now it seems nothing compared to what I have to go through for the next two weeks. So I might apologize in advance for not updating as quickly as you all may like. Just remember that I'll be footballing twice a day for two weeks, and then BAM. I'm back in school again. –sheds a tear— Good news, though! I've already started to write the next chapter.

So…. How'd ya like this new, _longest ever _installment of Saving Siri? Comments? Compliments? Insults? Really bad Vogon poetry?

**The Dark One Reborn:** Yes, you can use the idea. Sorry I couldn't tell you sooner. My email has been acting all wonky.

**Cerzee:** Good catch! I never even thought to look up Tonks's age! I guess I had just assumed that it wouldn't be available. Actually, while I was planning chapter 29 out, I had originally made her three- or four-years-old. But one of my friends convinced me that she would be just a wee bit older. Oy…. Thanks!

I don't even think I have to ask how everyone enjoyed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I loved it! It was funny, sad, romantic, and… everything else all rolled up into one perfect story! I won't post my thoughts, feelings, and theories here, just incase one of you is slacking and hasn't read it yet (wink) but if anyone wants to theorize with me, my door is wide open and my email is running smoothly once again. Just remember, I am not a novice in the subject of Harry Potter. My family has been known for its… geekiness!

I hope you all have a lovely day and I hope to be writing to you again soon!


	31. Chapter 31: The Two Days

**CHAPTER 30 RECAP**:

All boys at Hogwarts look like James Potter minus one detail (Siriushair; Remuseyes; Harryeyes; etc). Sirius's Uncle Alphard is dead. Sirius is still angry at Hermione, though he can't say why. Sirius yelled at Harry, then later apologised. Lily knows that Harry and Hermione are from the future. (Not important to this chapter, but it seemed to be a favourite of readers) An angry mob came after James. Dumbledore called Harry and Hermione into his office. While waiting, Sirius and Lily had a little row, which James put an end to. The two time-travelers came back to the sixth year boys' dormitory to find James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily waiting for them.

"We should be traveling back to our own time within the next two days."

* * *

**Chapter 31:** **The** **Two Days**

"Two days?" yelled James. He collapsed onto his bed. His breath was coming out hard and heavy. "Two days! But that's not enough time—we should've had more warning—you can't really be gone in—_you can't_!" James finally gasped. To everyone's surprise if they hadn't been too occupied with Harry and Hermione's news, Lily walked over to James and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Lily stared at James for a time, then looked up at Hermione. "In two days? Really?" Her voice wasn't upset or stunned like James's. It was saddened—deeply saddened. Hermione nodded slowly with a pained look on her face. "And when will we see you again?" Lily asked, for she did not know how far into the future Harry and Hermione were from.

"Only time can tell," said not Hermione but Remus in a solid tone. He was looking straight into Hermione's toffee-coloured eyes. His face was unreadable. "Right?" he asked, almost challenging.

"Of course," Hermione said, bowing her head respectfully.

Sirius's only reaction to the news of the two time-travelers was a deep crease between his eyebrows. His facial features were blank. Of course, James's Dare was still in play, so it was James's face. Sirius's eyes saw only Hermione.

Everyone say in silence for quite a long time, processing this recent and disturbing news. What did this mean? Was this good bye forever? How long would forever last? Is it possible that they could stay longer? Forever? Could they just ignore Dumbledore? Would they leave without telling anything of the future? Would they leave without a good bye? Would they forget everyone in the past? Would the class of '78 forget the time-travelers? Could they take them to the future?

Without warning, Harry, Remus, and Sirius began to feel a tingling sensation all over their body. Their skin seemed to buzz with trepidation. They all looked wildly around at each other. It lasted for a minute or so, and when it had ended, each boy was back in his respective body: Sirius looked like Sirius yet again, Remus was Remus, and Harry had his lightening bolt-shaped scar etched on his forehead once more. His shoulders seemed to sag under the weight of it. As Sirius was examining his face with trembling fingers and Remus his old lycanthropy wounds on his arms, Harry warily reached up to touch his scar. Once again, Harry was reminded that he had to think of not himself but others, especially those in the future. He had to be Harry Potter, the fighter against Lord Voldemort, _neither can live while the other survives…_

"I think…" began Lily uncertainly, "it might be a good time to go to dinner." She began to walk out of the room, shooting a fleeting glare at Sirius before laying a soothing arm over Hermione, shepherding her out of the room. Hermione cast Sirius one last look, and Sirius, caught off guard, snagged her eyes. Hermione's carried a concerned manner while Sirius gave the impression, surprisingly to both, of uneasiness.

James suddenly jumped up and ran over to Harry, throwing an arm over his son's shoulders. "We're going to give you the best two days, Harry," said James as flamboyantly as he could muster. James spotted a faint smile on Lily's face before she turned the corner and disappeared. "All right? The best two days of your life!" He gave Harry a noogie. A weak grin appeared on Harry's face. Elevated by his son's smile, James roughly slung an arm over Harry's shoulders. He, too, led him out of the dormitory. "We'll pull some pranks, prowl through the campus, maybe even have a picnic with the future wife, eh?" he added in an undertone, as to not let Sirius and Remus hear.

Harry looked suddenly at his father. Could they? Could they really have a picnic together, just the three of them? The Potter family? Harry's first real dinner with his two parents. The thought of it gave a warm feeling in his heart that spread all the way to his toes. James could tell from Harry's faraway stare that it would have to be arranged.

* * *

Dinner had been quite eventful. James and Sirius made two of the roast chickens tap dance up and down the table. Lily in retaliation hit the two boys with a Point of View Curse which forced them to say, "That was incredibly stupid of me to do so. I should stop showing off and looking so damn adorable when I do so." Lily blushed at the last part, hastily stuffing some potatoes into her mouth when James urbanely scooted towards her.

"We, my counterpart and I," James said mainly to Harry and Remus, halfway through dinner, "have come up with brilliant 'prank' as some would call it. It is harmless," he added hastily at the look on their faces, "but indeed quite humourous." Lily and Hermione, not interested in the least bit, turned away from the four boys and continued their conversation.

"Tell us, then," said Harry.

"A little background information seems to be in order first," said Sirius. James nodded. "At some level of consciousness in your brain, a song is usually rolling around up there, you may sense it, you may not."

"Which leads to this funny idea," continued James. "We enchant a sort of spell wall which, when someone walks through it, they hum or sing the first few lines of the song stuck in their head. How about that?"

Harry chuckled while Remus slowly nodded. "Advanced," said the latter. "It's safe to assume that you two know the spell already, is it?" James and Sirius nodded their heads eagerly. "I suppose you want to do it now, in the exit of the Great Hall." A few more bobble-head nods. Remus sighed. "All right, if we must. What say you, Harry?"

"Sounds great to me," said Harry, eager to spend time with his father, godfather, and old teacher.

* * *

"Who knew that Kyle McFly was a John Denver fan?" said James loudly as the four Gryffindor boys strode back to Gryffindor Tower. It was well after dinner. At the moment, James, Sirius, Remus, and Harry were reminiscing the recent prank. It had included "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," hummed by Kyle, "Hound Dog," by many upper classmen girls, "Piano Man" by Severus Snape, and "Do You Believe In Magic?" by Professor McGonagall. Harry didn't pay much attention to the actual trick, but more to the company he was in. Every word his father and godfather spoke, every action they made, Harry drank up. This was his last time being with his only parent-figures, and he wanted these memories to last a long time.

"My personal favourite was Professor Aylward's 'Singing in the Rain," said Sirius gleefully. "Especially when he tried to do a little tap dancing."

"Nah, when Dumbledore broke out into 'All You Need Is Love,' I thought I was going to cry," laughed James. "Victor Von Dort," he said to the Fat Lady. She nodded and swung her portrait open. The boys muttered a "thanks" and hopped into the Gryffindor common room. The first sight that snagged James's attention was a wave of vibrant red hair. Casting a wink at his son, James strode over towards Lily, who was seated near the fire beside Hermione.

"What's he up to?" mused Remus. He turned to Harry for his thoughts, but the Boy Who Lived shrugged and strolled to the back stairs with a smile and a little skip. Remus soon followed suit: he shrugged and shuffled towards the dormitories. Sirius, however, halted, standing rooted to the spot. He stood awkwardly with a glare in his eyes. Looking past a crowd of giggling fourth years and ignoring James pleading to Lily, Sirius spotted Hermione sitting beside the latter. She had her hands neatly folded on her lap, watching James and Lily with a dull amusement. Soon her gaze faltered and landed on a new object: Sirius.

They were both electrified as they made eye contact and could have easier torn away two of the strongest magnets than look away from each other. A swell of emotions washed over both of them instantaneously: ecstasy, rage, bother, confusion, grief, and, finally, fear. Hermione looked for some sign of forgiveness in his eyes while Sirius searched for hope. Before either found it, Hermione's stare had taken a sudden turn. She looked away from Sirius and focused her attention dazedly at James, who had abruptly started to talk to her. Sirius's entire body have a deep, heavy sigh. He had not yet spotted that glimpse of hope. All he had seen was the want for immediate comfort. Stealing one more glance at her (she was still in conversation with James), he turned and stalked away.

Hermione had been absorbed in talk with Lily about James when the four Marauders entered the common room. She caught James giving Harry a wink before striding over to Lily and herself. Just as Hermione had assumed, James began to talk to Lily, something about a picnic. This was when Hermione and Sirius caught each other's glances.

Unexpectedly, before Hermione had found that hint of forgiveness, James turned away from Lily to Hermione with a grin on his face.

"What?" Hermione asked with not much enthusiasm. She sounded quite put out.

"Well?" said James, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Well what?" asked Hermione.

"Were you even listening to what we were talking about?" asked James exasperatedly, but he still could not contain his eagerness.

"No."

"I asked if Lily would want to join Harry, Remus, Sirius, and me in a picnic tomorrow afternoon," he explained. "She said she would IF and only if you went along with her."

Hermione took this pause in his speech to see Sirius again. When she turned towards the center of the common room, she found he was gone. Sighing, Hermione focused back to James. Behind him, Lily was frantically nodding her head. Hermione looked at James and slowly nodded her head, too, still not sure what was happening.

James jumped a full meter up in the air, punching his fist into empty space. Having lost all dignity, he let out a continuous mixture of squeals and hollers while skipping to tell the other boys of his feat. The last thing the two girls heard was an earsplitting "WAHOO!" before James slammed his dormitory door closed.

Hermione rotated in her seat to face Lily again. "Why did you _want_ to go to a picnic? You _do_ know that a certain Quidditch star will be there, arrogant as ever, don't you?"

"Well, he's not _that_ arrogant, not any more at least," answered Lily evasively. In truth, Lily wanted Hermione to go, thinking it would be a fine time to patch things up with Sirius, since he would be there too. Lily cared more for Hermione and Sirius than spending time with James. Deep down, though, she was beginning to warm up to him, though she would never admit it….

Upstairs in the boys' dormitory, James had just barged into his room, giving a loud, "WAHOO!"

"If I had known you were trying for the loudest yell at Hogwarts yet, I would have hit you with a _Snorous_ spell," said Sirius in a bitter tone. He sat lounging on his bed, his usual conceited ambience smothering the air around him.

"What's wrong with you?" said James, trying and failing to conceal his happiness.

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows but said nothing more on the subject. "What are you on about, hollering down the halls and—MY GOD, ARE YOU SKIPPING?"

"Why, yes, I am, my dear Padfoot," said James, coming to a halt in front of Sirius bed, "for I have a lot to be excited about." Instead of continuing, he started to jump up and down like a little five-year-old with a cookie in his hand.

"One day you will tell us, I suppose," said Remus in a vague tone. Harry eagerly nodded his head behind him.

"Lily has agreed to go on a picnic with us!" squealed James.

"Excuse me, then, for not jumping up and down with you," drawled Sirius.

"Well, Hermione is going, too," added James, his excitement dropping down a notch, "but more importantly, Lily agreed to go _with me_!"

The last bit of news (minus James's comment about Lily) piqued the interest of the two remaining Marauders. Sirius stopped scowling for a moment and Remus stopped folding his clothes for a moment to look at Sirius. The latter took a step towards his friend, hesitated, then plunged onwards. "Padfoot…"

Meanwhile, Harry pulled James forcibly aside and waited for Remus and Sirius to start talking.

"Remus, Sirius, _and Hermione_!" whispered Harry angrily. Surprisingly, James just smiled. Harry's anger faltered. "What? What's going on inside that head of yours, Prongs?"

"Well," started James, "if you really think about it, Sirius will refuse to go because of the little riff between him and Hermione. Remus won't go, for he will find it uncomfortable, especially being with Hermione. He will also want to leave so he can knock some sense into Sirius about the matter. Hermione will come at first, but because she knows the future of the Potters, she will think it best to leave. Also, she will want to confront Sirius in private. Therefore, it will end up being just you, me, and Lily, for she won't leave, thinking it would be rude. She also will want to leave Hermione to talk to Sirius without interruptions, which I'm likely to cause. But, most importantly, she'll stay because she fancies me dearly."

Harry laughed particularly at the last part. "You _truly_ have a conniving mind. How long did it take you come up with this?"

"Oh, about five minutes," said James with a laugh, which Harry joined him shortly.

"How long do you think it will take for Sirius to refuse to go?" asked Harry quietly, first making sure the two others weren't listening.

James held out a closed fist. First he raised his index finer, as if counting, then his middle, then his fourth, his pinky, and finally his thumb. He waved his open hand with a flourish. As soon as he did so, Sirius said loudly to Remus, "There's no way you can make me go."

Harry had to stifle his laugh. He turned to James again. "You really know your friends well, don't you?" James nodded with a cheeky grin before switching it to a solemn face and calling out to his friend, "What was that, Padfoot?"

"I'm not going," said Sirius, pronouncing his stubbornness with great finesse.

James winked at Harry before rushing to his best friend's side. "Why not, 'ole Padfoot? It'll be boring without you there."

Sirius managed to slip in a smile. "I'm sure you'll find some way to entertain yourself, especially when a certain red head will be there. No, I think it'll be for the best if I didn't show up." And that was final.

"All right," said James, knowing not to argue, or else his entire plan would fail. Also, he knew better than to argue with Sirius, just in general. "I'll make sure to save you a slice of pie."

"Make it two and we have a deal," Sirius sent back, this time with a full, genuine smile.

* * *

That night, Harry, James, Sirius, and Remus prowled around Hogwarts. The three Marauders made sure to show Harry all of the most secret passageways and shortcuts, with the help of James's Invisibility Cloak, of course. Every once in awhile, Sirius or James would transfigure themselves into their Animagus form. Padfoot would skip around, chasing his own tail. Prongs once turned into a stag, but as he turned to face Harry, his long, pointy antlers collided with and knocked over a suit of armour. He quick transfigured himself back and dived under the Invisibility Cloak. They all ran away cackling.

At an ungodly hour in the morning, the four boys crashed into their dormitory, falling asleep straight away.

Coming all too quickly, the next afternoon was filled with snow, a little breeze, and a few stray rays of sunlight. Owls flew in and out of the castle, delivering belated Christmas presents. The trees in the nearby forest rustled as wild, magical animals weaved between them. Inside one of the tallest towers of the castle, a rambunctious boy was galloping throughout his dormitory.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WE HAVE A PICNIC TO GO TO!" shouted James. He ran up to each bed and shoved its occupant. Accidentally, Remus was pushed out of his bed and onto the floor with a THUD.

"Prongs!" yelled Sirius as he received a noogie from James. "I'm not going to the bloody picnic. Couldn't you have let me sleep in?" He finished with a growl.

"It's already past noon, anyway," said Remus with a yawn, staring at his watch with faintly amused eyes.

"Well, we _did_ stay up late last night," grinned Sirius, baring his teeth.

James, who was in the process of shaking Harry awake, came to a sudden thought. He dropped his son (Harry hit his head on his bedside) and yelped in surprise. "Oh no oh no oh no!" he repeated again and again, pacing in little circles.

"What's wrong _now_, Prongsie?" said Sirius, his mouth dripping with sarcasm. Harry resurfaced, rubbing his head gingerly.

James stopped as if hit with a Body-Bind curse. "What am I going to wear!"

* * *

"It's a shame Remus couldn't make it," said Harry. His voice seemed offhand, but his snickering and wink to James gave it away.

"Yeah, I was really counting on him being here," added James, his smirk matching his son's. He leapt over the last five stairs like a deer over a fallen log onto the floor of the Entrance Hall. As he waited for Harry to finish the set of stairs, James tensely tugged the sleeves of his black sweater before catching his son's glance and shoving his hands back into his khaki's pockets.

"Nervous?" asked Harry, concealing his grin behind his hand.

"Maybe," answered James after a long moment's pause. He cast a toothy grin. They walked in silence across the corridor, and it wasn't until they were outside when James spoke up again. "Would this picnic count as a date?" He had tried to sound casual, though he didn't manage it perfectly.

"I don't know if having your future son with you counts," said Harry slowly. "But I guess it could. Depends on how you look at it."

James looked at his watch. "Bonnie is late," he commented. As though she heard him, Bonnie the house-elf Apparated beside his feet. "Good. Did you bring the food?" James asked kindly, squatting down so they could see eye-to-eye.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, sir," she squeaked, wringing her apron nervously, as most of the Hogwart's house-elves did when doing what was usually not permitted. She snapped her long fingers and trays of steaming food appeared at her side. "Where would Master Potter like it?"

"Over there, by that clump of trees, if you could," said James with a genuine smile. He pointed to a spot not too far off. The threesome set off at once to the area. Once they got there, James started to charm the place, first siphoning all the snow from the area. Then he conjured up a blanket to sit on. Bonnie made sure all the food was prepared perfectly before leaving the two Potters. When James tried for the third time to create a shield to stop the snow from falling on them, Lily Evans and Hermione Snicket had joined them. James instantly sprang off the blanket as if it were scorching. "Lily, you made it." He sounded positively thrilled. He looked over her shoulder to see Hermione. "Hullo Hermione."

"Hi," she answered timidly. She looked around only to spot Harry. "The others couldn't make it?" She, too, tried to sound offhand, but failed miserably.

"No, I'm sorry. I couldn't convince them to come," James apologised, sounding sincere. He turned back to Lily with a nervous smile. "You look beautiful." Lily had let her hair down, styling it into loose curls. Her sweater was a pure white, contrast to James's black. She, too, wore khaki pants which fitted her perfect curves. "If angels lived on Earth, they'd be quite jealous of you." James pulled out his wand and drew a flower in midair. It dropped into his hand. He handed the lily to Lily.

Harry and Hermione felt awkward at the moment, especially the latter. Harry, however, was smiling. His parents were getting along just fine, although his father was bordering on excessive sappiness, even if his mother just drank it up.

She smiled and whispered a heartfelt "thank you" in his ear before sitting down on the blanket. "What spell were you just attempting to do before we got here?" she asked.

"I was trying to create a sort of bubble charm on the blanket so the snow wouldn't keep falling on us—" James started, but was interrupted by Lily. She pulled out her wand and, without even uttering the incantation, caused an invisible wall to encompass them all. The aftereffects were stunning. From the outside looking in, they seemed to be in an enlarged snow globe. Lily performed another nonverbal charm, making the place heated, though no fires were visible.

"You're amazing, you know that," cooed James. Lily's complexion heightened.

"What do we have to eat?" Lily asked for a quick change of subject. She sat down, criss-crossed, between Harry and James, though not to close to the latter. She eyed the silver trays of steaming food. James smiled, fell to the ground very childishly, scooted closer to her, and reached across her to point to the food while naming them. Lily leaned back as he shot a wink at her.

"We have some salad to start off with," he said. "Then we have mashed potatoes and a tasty roast chicken—with butterbeer to drink, of course. Then, for dessert, we have all sorts of sweets: pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs, and what not."

"Sounds delightful," Lily exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. "How did you know that my favourite meal included roast chicken?"

James grinned. "I have my sources." He turned to Harry as Lily went to peruse the food. "I had no idea, did you?" Harry shook his head, shaking with laughter.

Hermione looked around at her surroundings, feeling quite out of place. She folded her arms across her chest, looking as though she wanted to shrink completely out of this scene. As welcome as she was by Lily, who did not want to be alone with James, Hermione know she couldn't be there. She knew she was an intruder. An intruder upon a happy family moment—though one third of the partaker didn't know it. She should leave. She should leave now. In the back of her mind, in the place where she seldom went recently, she knew she must go and seek a certain boy whom she had not spoken to alone in what seemed like eons.

Hermione sidestepped over to Harry. "Listen, I don't feel like I should be here right now." Harry's eyes flickered over to James wit a twinkle, but Hermione didn't notice the fleeting glance. "Intruding a family moment, you know," she added with an empty chuckle. "Don't worry about me. You stay here." Giving Harry a hug, she whispered in his ear, "I'm glad you finally got your wish, after sixteen years."

"Thanks," Harry said as she departed. "And good luck," he added once she was out of hearing range. He watched her walk up to the castle before turning to his mother and father, who were arguing over what was the best wizarding sweet.

* * *

Hermione trekked through the snow, using her wand to melt a path to the school. Hugging herself to keep her warmth, she gave a heavy sigh. Harry had once told her about the Mirror of Erised, after much coaxing on her part. All Harry Potter wanted, the one thing he truly desired above everything else, was his family. Not fame. Not fortune. Not a girl. Not friends. Not even Voldemort defeated. Just James and Lily Potter. And now, out of this time-traveling fiasco came a deeply satisfied Harry.

Hermione's breath floated in front of her eyes like a puff of smoke before it dispersed. The cold stung her eyes, and when she went to rub them, she found them wet.

She climbed the front stairs and stepped through the entrance doors. Warmth spread from her toes to the top of her head. Her spirits lifted higher than the tallest tower. She knew what she had to do. And she had to do it right now. No more waiting. No more avoiding. She had to see him. To talk to him. To be near him.

To give him a proper good-bye. Forever.

She spent twenty-some minutes of wandering around the school, her search fruitless. There was no sign of the remaining Marauders anywhere. It would have helped, although, if she had the Marauder's Map or even knew the grounds as well as the four boys did, but she did not. A few minutes after she had given up hope and decided to make her way back to the common room, she heard someone start to yell. She quickened her pace down the corridor to ascertain who she thought it belonged to. The voice was coming from what seemed like a tapestry. She turned the corner and—

* * *

"You're a hard character to track down, Padfoot," said Remus in the middle of his panting. He bent over, catching his breath. He had found Sirius in one of the back ways to Gryffindor Tower behind a tapestry. If Remus hadn't been bothered to look behind one of the coats of armour, he wouldn't have spotted his friend: Sirius had transformed into his Animagus form. At first, the large black dog growled at the newcomer, but faltered. Padfoot's grey eyes lost their anger and turned to sadness.

"Why don't you join the land of two feet?" asked Remus. The dog tilted his head in the adorable way only a dog can, let out a loud bark, then transformed into his own human teenager form.

"Why Sirius! Where did you come from?" asked Remus, full of sarcasm and wearing a cheeky grin.

Sirius clambered out from behind the armour. At that moment, the coat of armour dropped its axe so it halted millimeters above Sirius's head. He flinched, falling to the floor, his eyes almost popping out of his head. His form reminded Remus of a baby about to cry. Once he realised he was not in danger, Sirius returned to normal at once. Echoing throughout the armour rang an evil laughter. In retaliation, Sirius whacked his wand against the chest plate. Sparks flew out, and through the helmet out popped a bouquet of flowers. The laughter died immediately.

"HA!" said Sirius triumphantly, kicking the knight's left shin guard. It was after much taunting when he acknowledged his friend's presence. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the picnic?" His voice sounded a little bitter at the last part.

"Shouldn't you?" snapped Remus. Sirius noted this new sharpness in his friend's voice, turned sharply on his heel, and started to walk away. "Why aren't you there? Why do you keep avoiding her?"

With his back still to his friend, Sirius said airy, "I don't know what you are talking about," then started to walk away again.

"You're not fooling anybody, Sirius," Remus said. He ran ahead of Sirius to block his escape. His friend glared at him. Remus was unmoved. "You are avoiding Hermione. I don't know why, but I think it is incredibly foolish of you to do so."

"You do, do you?" asked Sirius, almost uncontrollably. "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. But let me tell you something, Moony, before you continue to recite all of your opinions. She has done more trouble here than you realise. Before this year, you never used to pester me and James, never told us off for doing whatever we were doing. But this year, the year that little Miss Hermione is painted into the picture, you begin to—"

"Stand up to you two?" interrupted Remus. He was bordering on anger now. "Sorry if I'm not the push-over I used to be." The two boys glared at each other for several moments. "The reason why I speak up nowadays is because things are a lot bigger. If either of you two screw anything up with Harry _or_ Hermione, the ENTIRE FUTURE could be ruined. And I think that is of just a tad greater magnitude than you both hexing Snape."

"So then why the hell are you twisting my arm to talk to Hermione?" growled Sirius. "If I'm jeopardizing the future by dating her, why do you want me to kiss and make up?"

"Because you'll be a wreck for the next twenty years if you don't," said Remus frankly. Neither boy said anything for quite sometime. They just stood across from each other, their eyes never wavering from the other.

"Remus? Did I hear your voice?" came a feminine voice a ways off. The next moment, the tapestry moved, and Hermione appeared. She stopped short at the sight of Remus's companion. Sirius, who had looked up to see her, now whipped his head away from her view. Remus glanced fleetingly at his friend before stepping towards Hermione.

"Why aren't you at the picnic?" he asked in a kind tone.

Hermione shrugged. "It just felt a little awkward, having to withstand all the flirting between James and Lily."

"Is Harry around?" asked Remus, looking behind her as if expecting Harry to come through the tapestry too.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "He's still down there with the two love birds." She looked around her for a moment before saying, "So… what are you two up to?" She watched the two boys fidget uneasily.

"We were just—" began Sirius.

"I was just about to leave," said Remus loudly over his friend. "So, now, I'm going to, er… leave… Bye." He turned away from Hermione and, while walking past Sirius, whispered in his friend's ear, "Twenty years is a long time to regret. Don't blow it." Remus nudged Sirius forward so that he stumbled. Without another word, he left.

Sirius glared at where Remus had disappeared, and then turned toward Hermione, feeling the most awkward he had ever felt in his life. He couldn't bear to look at her, so he averted his eyes. "Look, I was just going to—"

"Sirius," said Hermione quietly. Her voice wavered. Sirius glimpsed upwards to find her face blotchy and her eyes wet. She gave a soft sniff. "Is this really how we're going to leave each other?" She wrapped her arms around herself and cast her eyes to the ground.

It was seeing her look so helpless and hurt that banished all of Sirius's resentment and anger. Everything that he had been feeling since the news of his departed uncle had rushed out of him like air from an open balloon. Instead of wanting to yell at her, he just wanted to be those arms that wrapped around her. He wanted to comfort her, to apologise for being a complete idiot to her for the past days. He wanted to make everything better. And somewhere deep inside him, he felt as though this would be one of the last moments he would ever have the chance to see her again. Sirius walked to her. "Not if I can help it."

"Oh, Sirius," cried Hermione. She ran over to him and flung herself at him. He embraced her with equal strength. Her body against his made his heart leap with joy. The scent of her hair in his nose made him smile. Even her tears soaking his shirt made him feel elevated higher than ever before.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled into her hair, since her head was lying on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for being a complete prat to you for the last—"

"You don't need to apologise," cut in Hermione, her voice barely audible through Sirius's shoulder. "I'm just glad you won't be mad at me… when I leave."

"But, we'll see each other again," said Sirius comfortingly. "Sure, I'll be a lot older, but from what I understand, I'm not married." He gave a weak chuckle, one that Hermione did not return. Instead, she lifted her head upwards to reveal even more tears.

"Just promise me this, Sirius," she whispered.

"Anything for you, Hermione," answered Sirius.

"Just… promise me you'll listen to your friends, especially when it comes to Remus." It wasn't telling Sirius anything in particular of the future, but it was a caution. In her mind, however, Hermione was thinking specifically of when Remus tried and failed to persuade Sirius to stay at headquarters instead of going to the Ministry to help Harry.

Sirius faltered. "Okay. I promise. I will."

"Good," sniffed Hermione. Her face disappeared again as she snuggled into Sirius's shoulder.

Sirius pondered on this request for some time, absentmindedly stroking Hermione's hair. What did it mean? Was something bad in store for him in the future? For one of his friends? Was it a life or death situation, or was it something else? These questions and a plethora of more ran in and out of Sirius's head for quite some time.

Without really deciding on it, the couple began to stroll around the grounds. They seldom talked, never stopped and snogged each other, but just enjoyed the other's presence. Their hands interlocked tightly, they wound in and out through the halls of Hogwarts. Neither of them took notice of the students around them, whispering and pointing, nor where exactly their feet were leading them. Hermione glanced out of a nearby window and gave a sweet chuckle. She elbowed Sirius lightly in the ribs and pointed out the window. "Look."

Out in the snow laid three students: two with jet-black hair and one with long red hair. James, Harry, and Lily were seated on a red and white checkered blanket feasting on their picnic. Lily threw her head back, laughing hysterically at something one of the two Potters had said. It was picture-perfect scene.

Sirius smiled. The time-travelers were having fun spending time with family and friends (though he didn't know about Lily). They were visiting all except for… Remus. Sirius felt a pang of guilt. He had driven his friend away from fancying Hermione. And now Remus was missing the last few hours of Harry and Hermione's company, just to see his other friends happy. Sirius would have to buy him a life-time supply of chocolate to make it up to Remus.

Their silence was petering out, so they began to talk. Talk of what, they could not recollect, because it wasn't that important. School. Family. Friends. Sirius didn't like the sound of Ron Weasley. "I think he fancies you," he grinned, giving Hermione a nudge in the side. Hermione blushed and quietly reminded herself never to bring him up again to Sirius. For some reason, she found it to be a sensitive, not to mention awkward, conversation.

All too soon, or at least for Sirius and Hermione, the day was drawing to a close. The winter sun was setting fast and early. James, Lily, and Harry had packed up their picnic and were seen from a window to be heading inside. They were most likely going to make their way to the common room. To Sirius's dismay, Hermione followed that train of thought and decided they should meet the others there, too, before going to dinner. If Sirius could have his way, he would have spent every last second with Hermione and Hermione alone.

"Good meal?" Hermione asked Lily when they were back in Gryffindor Tower. Lily licked her lips and both girls gave a giggle.

Remus had come from the library just moments before the rest of the Gryffindor sixth years came. Now he was in the midst of three boys whose heads appeared to still be on cloud nine. "Hello?" he would often say, sometimes waving a hand in front of their faces. From what could be understood from Sirius, James, and Harry's mumblings was that James could die happy, Sirius felt completed, and this was Harry's best holiday break.

It took the sextet a while to get moving towards the Great Hall again. Harry, Hermione, Lily, and Remus were walking in one row with James and Sirius ahead of them walking backwards as to still be a part in the conversation.

"Oh, I don't remember," smiled Lily, her countenance telling the rest otherwise. Her eyes lost focus for a second or two as her mind slipped from the present situation. After a good moment's pause, she began to speak again with her cheeks glowing like embers. "It's embarrassing." She realised her flushed face and laid both hands on her cheeks to cool them. Lily refused to make direct eye contact with James.

"Oh come on, Lily," pleaded James, grinning like the Cheshire Cat at Lily's direction. "Sirius told you of his embarrassing incident in the loo when he was four years old."

"Which, by the way Sirius, was rather disgusting," Lily said. Sirius's smirked only widened.

"You're delaying the inevitable," said James, giving Lily a wink. Caught off her guard, she began to talk. She had been ten years old at the time. While at Muggle elementary school, Lily had set a student's exam on fire. She promptly explained that the boy had been trying to cheat off her. The Ministry of Magic sent a letter to her bona fide Muggle parents that day, therefore verifying her future magical abilities.

"And my sister has not spoken a decent word to me since," finished Lily, laughing along with everyone else.

"No wonder your parents weren't surprised when you were named prefect," said Remus.

"You started putting down us wrong-doers at _such_ a young age," winked James.

"Well, then," huffed Lily. "When did you find out you were a wizard?"

"Well," began James dramatically, looking very content at being asked by Lily. "Since my family is pureblood, I was expected to be a right little wizard at birth. My dear 'ole dad loves to tell the tale at dinner parties." For some reason, Sirius sniggered. James's only reaction was a fleeting but deadly pause. "Right after I was born," James continued with a slightly duller tone than before, "while I lying in my mum's arms, I had sneezed. Without warning, the doctor who was with us disappeared and in his place was a giant, fuzzy caterpillar—"

"You performed a human transfiguration spell _when you were five minutes old_?" cried out Lily.

"I was more like seven minutes," corrected James. His contentedness grew when Lily let out a breathy "wow."

A few minutes later Remus was asked the same question by Lily. He stuttered for awhile until Harry came to the rescue. He then began to recite about the time his Aunt Petunia sheared off all of his hair, except for his bangs of course "to hide that horrible scar." Harry, although giving an accurate account, did not mention his aunt's name and why he was with her in the first place.

As James and Sirius continued to recite their magical mishaps, still trotting backwards, Regulus Black appeared suddenly, as if he had Apparated.

"Can we help you?" growled Harry, his voice holding an unnatural amount of threats and hatred. James and Sirius spun around on their heels at once. They were smart enough not to keep their back to a Slytherin, especially that one.

"No need to get your wands in a twist," sneered Regulus. He eyed his older brother and his friend's hands clasped around their wands in their pockets. "I'm not here to fight. Not right now, at least. No, I have something that might interest you." The Gryffindors eyes the younger boy warily, chiefly that evil grin and arrogant glint in his grey eyes. Regulus's right hand was hidden behind his back. In a flash he whipped it out, pointing it threateningly at Harry. The sextet flinched, some going for their wands. It was a scroll of parchment. Regulus burst out laughing. "Some brave Gryffindors you all turned out to be." His laughter soon died out with the livid shine in James and Sirius's eyes. Regulus looked at Harry once again. "It's addressed to you and the Mudblood—"

WHAM.

Sirius had drawn out his wand and proceeded to hex Regulus to the other side of the corridor. His brother wasn't wounded. On the contrary, Regulus was laughing again. "Temper, temper, big brother," said Regulus in a very condescending manner. "And right after the joyous holidays, too!" He let himself smirk. "As much fun as it is catching up with you, _Siri_, I have things to do. You know, jinxing first years, maiming Gryffindors, things like that. 'Till next time, gang…" Regulus saluted them mockingly and started to walk away. Right before he descended down the stairs, he called back to them. "Or maybe not." With that, he disappeared with a fresh wave of mirth.

"What is that supposed to mean?" James asked, turning back towards his friends. But everyone else's eyes were glued to the scroll that Regulus had handed to Harry. "Who's it from?"

"Dumbledore," Harry said in a shaky tone while unraveling the parchment, then his voice stayed shut away in grief and devastation. His eyes furrowed as they ploughed through the rest of the letter. With a numbed expression, he passed it on to Hermione. With one fleeting look at Sirius, she read the message.

"He—" she stuttered after a moment of reading, "he wants me and Harry up in his office… as soon as possible."

"We can come, too," Remus informed the rest after he took the letter from Hermione. They all stood together in silence for quite some time. Each exchanged loaded glances with the others. The only noise was the far off sound of students screaming outside in the midst of their snowball fight. Remus cleared his throat. "We should go."

* * *

"Hermione. Wait." Sirius pulled her aside. No one else had noticed this and continued to queue into Dumbledore's office. Hermione looked at Harry's retreating figure for a moment before facing Sirius.

"What is it?" she asked. Her eyes moved from Sirius's hand on her shoulder to his eyes. Instead of seeing the playfulness she was expecting, there laid a distinct melancholy even on the verge of tears in his eyes. "Is everything—"

"I want you to make me a promise," Sirius interrupted, giving a quick look into the headmaster's office, weighing how much time they had to talk before they would be beckoned. "I want you to promise me that no matter what happens in the future, no matter what the circumstance, we can always be together. As friends," he added hurriedly as she opened her mouth, "at the very least. I know we're twenty years apart over there, but… I don't want to live without you in my life. The next twenty years will be a living hell already. Let's not make it last longer." He seemed to beholding his breath with anticipation.

Without a single word, Hermione sprang at him and enveloped him in a massive hug. He toppled backwards slightly, so that they both collided into a nearby wall.

"Hermione!" gasped Sirius, for the wind had nearly been knocked out of him. She didn't let go. Instead of responding with words, she planted a heartfelt yet quick kiss on his lips. In a split second, she leapt off him, landing a full meter away. Sirius, still stunned, stood leaning against the wall.

"Good bye, Sirius Black." And she vanished into Dumbledore's office.

* * *

A/N: Well. Another chapter. Bon, non?

Firstly, I would like to apologise for not updating for… three months, I think. My only excuse involves school, football (soccer), tap dance (big performance coming up!), and a wedding (not mine, don't worry). Nothing overdramatic, so therefore it can't be called a bona fide excuse, now could it? I'm sorry, readers. I truly am. If you actually knew who I was, you could ask my friends. They know it's been eating at me the entire time. Why didn't I update, then? "Busy" schedule, writer's block, etc. Sorry!

**I WILL NOT DROP THIS STORY. **Never! If, by any chance, it takes a long time for the next chapter to be posted, it will come in time. I guarantee, I PROMISE that I won't leave this story hanging. Others have done that to me too many times for me to do that to you all.

As for those who lost faith in my updating…. And for those who yelled at me to hurry up…. I can only ask that you do not yell at me again. I am a regular growing girl who has a life outside of I would like you to remember that. What will come will come. Good things are worth waiting for.

As for everyone else who has patiently (or quietly impatiently) waited, BRAVO! You all get a gold star. Everyone else, a silver star. (wink)

**Angelic Bladez:** You are awarded "The Funniest Review to Tell Me to Get Off My Lazy Butt and Finish This Chapter." (Grin) Thanks.

**MegaMuffin:** Chocolate Chip, if you please! (wink)

**Rema:** Lily had the clam chowder. Hermione had the porridge. Good observation, though!

I would comment to each and every one of my reviewers, but as I can tell from your reviews, you would like me to update as soon as possible. So… THANKS EVERYONE!

One last word(s):

ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO!


	32. Chapter 32: In The End

Every promise that I have made about the ending of this chapter… I take back. I had to change it. You'll see. I'm sorry.

I do not own anything that somebody else owns.

* * *

**Chapter 32: In The End**

"Miss Snicket, how nice of you to join us," Headmaster Albus Dumbledore said composedly. He was standing behind his desk, absentmindedly stroking Fawkes's vibrant feathers. His twinkling eyes moved from the rest of the Gryffindors, who were all standing in a semicircle around his desk, to Hermione, who had just entered the room. Her eyes were stained with melancholy tears. Much to her relief, Dumbledore, nor anyone else, commented. She quickly wiped them off onto her sleeve before joining the semicircle. Noticing it out of the corner of her eye, she saw James repeatedly glancing at the door, as if he was expecting _someone_ to walk in. Hermione looked away before his focus turned to her with a questioning air.

"It is safe to assume that you all know why you're here, is it?" began Dumbledore again. A light murmur and a few half-hearted nods of the heads was all he received in reply. "I have at long last found the near impossible to find Life-Alter." His pause had a great effect: it gave all the students a chance to steal a quick glance. During this time, he picked up a glass triangular prism that had been lying on his desk. One third was a transparent but rich green and the other was an endless black. Between the two coloured sides was crystal clear glass. "To refresh your memories, a Life-Alter is a magical instrument with dual purposes. One, of course, is to travel far distances in time—"

Sirius now entered the room as Dumbledore was pointing to the black side of the item in his wrinkled hands. No one else but the headmaster saw his entrance. Dumbledore continued as if there had been no interruption.

"And the other is to bring back a recently deceased person," fingering the green edge.

Sirius stopped in his tracks. He had, for the first time, heard the description of the Life-Alter and automatically looked at Harry and Hermione. He noticed that their chins dropped ever so slightly to their chests and with glazed eyes stared at the ground.The question that popped into James, Remus, Lily, and especially Sirius's head was:

_What made them mess with a Life-Alter in the first place?_

"For reasons which will remain _unknown_," Dumbledore said, putting great stress on the last word, reading their minds, "Mr Thewler and Miss Snicket used this side of the Life-Alter to travel back to this time in 1976." Dumbledore looked up from the machine in his hands and cast his eyes around the tense and anxious group of students. Sirius was standing still at the door, his hand still resting on the doorknob. All the teenagers were still oblivious to his presence. "Unfortunately," Dumbledore continued, "their Life-Alter was already at the end of its tether. After they used it to travel here, the last of its old magic died out. Harry and Hermione were stuck here. Another Life-Alter had to be found, for it is quite impossible for them to stay here for their remaining years." He stared pointedly at James and Sirius, who immediately looked away from Harry and Hermione respectively and towards the headmaster. "So my quest to find another Life-Alter began. I must admit, I did not put in all of my effort. I have been occupied with—other things—some current events.—"

Harry just noticed an edition of the Daily Prophet lying on the floor as if it had been tossed down with great frustration. A giant picture was printed on the front page, moving of course. The image looked like a constellation of stars lined with a hazy smoke connecting the dots. It was the Dark Mark hovering over a small brick house.

"At length, I have achieved in obtaining one." The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes became suddenly and very noticeably bright. "I will not answer how I procured it," he said immediately afterwards. Hermione closed her mouth. She looked somewhat put out. "That is not important. What is important, however, is that Harry and Hermione can go safely back to their own time. We will see them again," he said directly to Lily and the Marauders. "Nonetheless, it would be best not to dwell on them and their past presence and to forget everything that they have been a part of. I—"

"But how can we forget?" Sirius spoke up at last. Everyone turned to face him. Hermione quickly looked away. He strode forward, stopping between the two time-travelers. Only when he continued to speak to the Headmaster did Hermione finally set her eyes on him again. "How can we?" he repeated, his voice faintly cracking. Nobody laughed. "How can we forget these two when they have impacted our lives in such a short amount of time? Professor, you have known them so much less than we have and yet they have left a mark upon your life. How do you think they have affected their friends? And you want us to _forget about them!_ Sorry Professor, but you're asking for a damn miracle." Sirius let out a deep, quivering breath, as if he had been holding it in throughout his entire speech.

Dumbledore spoke as if there had been no interruption, only the cheerless twinkle in his eyes gave it away. "I know it will be difficult, but I thought about this long ago, almost four months. When I first met Harry and Hermione, I had to judge them from that moment if they could handle this," he said, waving his hand around, "living in the past. I've already told this to you, Harry. I thought, just from first glance, that you two would be able to handle it. Harry also mentioned that day that he knew of a handful of students here in this time, one of them being you, Mr Potter." James inclined his head. "So not only did I have to judge Harry and Hermione, but also the students they were most likely to become acquainted with. I unfortunately made one mistake, and that was a student who did not get along well with any of you—"

"Snivellus," growled Sirius.

"_Severus_ was too scarred by 'the Marauders,'" Dumbledore continued, using air quotations, "to put past his grudges. Fortunately, Professor McGonagall instructed him not to tell anyone else of Harry and Hermione's true identities before anything too serious took place."

"Git," both James and Sirius grumbled at the same time.

"I knew you four had enough strength and courage to go through this," Dumbledore said to Lily, Remus, James, and Sirius. "For quite some time, Harry and Hermione will be constantly in your thoughts, no doubt about that, but with time you will dwell on them less. And finally, when you least expect it, they will appear. You will have memories that will be brought back, but remember this: you will have grown up. You will have matured, we can hope, into adults who do not take things as lightly as you do now. Harry and Hermione, however, will most likely be younger than they are now. They will not remember what they have experienced within these past few months for quite some time. A few weeks right before sixth year, if I do recall correctly." Harry and Hermione both nodded. Dumbledore turned to them, now, giving Lily and the Marauders time to contemplate.

"As for you two, the time-travelers." Dumbledore gave a chuckle. "Ah, where to begin. How about at the beginning?" He chortled some more at their confused faces. "Yes, you will travel back to exactly when you left, within a few hours. That's right, Mr Thewler, you will not have missed any schooling. You will arrive the day and at the same place as where you left."

"But Professor," Harry broke in, unable to contain himself, "shouldn't we go to exactly twenty years from now? That way, we won't have lived six extra months?"

"And the world would continue on without Harry Potter?" whispered Dumbledore. It took Harry a few seconds to realise that Dumbledore had called him by his real name. "Yes, Harry, I know more than you think, but not a lot at all. I think it would be best if you didn't miss anything."

"In—in that case, Professor," stuttered Harry, "would it be possible to travel a little earlier than when we left? I mean, there's something that shouldn't really have happened…"

In the corner, Sirius's ears perked up. James, Remus, and Lily were still engrossed in their whispered conversation.

"Absolutely not," said Dumbledore suddenly, his demeanor almost sharp. His expression softened at Harry abashed face. He laid a warm and comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "It must be very hard for you to hear this, but all who pass on, they die for a reason. That reason may be clouded, and may yet remain clouded forever, but we must accept it…" Dumbledore leaned close to Harry, whispering in his ear, "even if it has happened in great quantities." He straightened upwards. "The ones who die never really leave us, do they? They remain here, with us, as long as we remain loyal and loving to them."

Dumbledore's last words rang in Harry's ears, even after he left Harry's side to talk with Hermione. Harry stood numbly by himself.

"Hermione, I don't know where to begin," Dumbledore said softly.

"How about the end?" Hermione said, giving a great sniff and drying her eyes. Dumbledore gave a low laugh.

"This is hard for you, I know it," Dumbledore said in a comforting yet grievous tone.

Hermione sniffed once more. Then she said in dead quiet voice, as so not even Sirius could hear, "He's not to going to be the same once I get back, even if he was alive. He changed greatly, Professor, over the years. He's not the same at all. I fell in love with his younger, more exuberant self, not the deadened one. I'll never see my Sirius again." She looked upon the Headmaster with doleful eyes. "Must I go?"

"I'm afraid you must, Miss Snicket," said Dumbledore sadly.

"Please, Professor, it's Miss Granger," Hermione said.

Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly for a moment, then twinkled once again. "Miss Granger." Hermione leapt into his arms at the sound of her name being spoken in that majestic voice. The Headmaster returned the hug after a startled second.

"Now is the time," Dumbledore spoke loudly after he broke away from Hermione. "Harry, Hermione, step forward." Dumbledore reached behind him, his fingers clasping around the Life-Alter. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, took the other's hand tightly, and stepped forwards together. "Lily, Remus, James, Sirius, would you please step back." All but the last one complied. Sirius rushed forward and gave Hermione a quick hug, kissed her on her forehead, and almost inaudibly whispered, "Don't forget." He then rushed to the back of the room with the others.

Dumbledore handed the Life-Alter to Harry. "It was by mere coincidence, or maybe fate, it would seem, that you two ended up here in this time, instead of landing in the time of Queen Elizabeth I. If you look closely, you will see numbers inscribed on the inside of the black end. There is the hour, day, month, and year. If you would be so kind as to set it to the correct date."

"How?" asked Harry and Hermione simultaneously.

"By twisting the black end separately from the other two," said Dumbledore. "Don't worry, it won't send you back in time. Not yet, anyhow. You two must not have noticed, but magic needs to happen in order for it to work properly."

At last the two time-travelers finally got it set to the right time approximately. It took some recalling of memories and sophisticated rotating of the Life-Alter. They started to hand it back to Dumbledore, waiting for the spell. Surprisingly, Dumbledore shook his head.

"No no," the Headmaster said. "You two must do it. It wouldn't be of any use to have me go into the future. Now, take out your wands and simply tap the tips to the numbers on the black side and that will take you home."

"That's it?" asked Harry, his wand hanging in midair.

"That's it," said Dumbledore, amused. "You two must have unconsciously tapped that spot when you traveled back."

"I guess so," mumbled Hermione, recalling that day. She looked at Harry. "Didn't Fred and George barge in seconds before we left?"

"Yeah, I guess them banging in just startled me enough to trigger this thing," Harry said, holding the Life-Alter. "I was already shaking out of sheer apprehension," he mumbled in an undertone. He looked to the others, who were all standing in trepidation. "Take good care of each other, all right?" Harry said in a quaky voice.

James smiled and carefully laid an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Don't worry, we will." Lily flushed but leaned into her future husband's warm embrace. Her emerald eyes were bright with tears. James lovingly brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Harry smiled upon the two.

"So when can we talk to you both about this?" asked Remus, a sad smile stretched on his thin face.

"Summer before our sixth year," choked Hermione, her voice straining to hold back tears.

"I look forward to it," replied Remus, standing up straighter and holding himself more upright. Harry and Hermione both had to grin: he _was_ the mature-est of the lot.

Sirius was leaning against the wall, his hands stuffed tightly into his pockets. His face was tilted downwards, away from the two time-travelers, leaving it partly masked in shadows. A glossy sheen of silver could be seen in the dim light. His jaw was clenched firmly.

"It'll be all right, Sirius," said Hermione barely above a whisper, her voice cracking. He finally looked up. "I promise." Letting out a deep sigh, he gave a nod.

Hermione looked back to Harry, whose eyes were solidly set upon his parents. "Are you ready?"

Harry first turned towards Dumbledore. "Thank you, Professor, for everything that you have done for us. I can assure you that you continue to do an excellent job at this school."

Dumbledore broke out into his old smile. "Why thank you Mr Potter. I hope to see you soon."

"You will." _Sooner than you think._

Harry turned back to his parents and past mentors. They all had gleaming eyes. Taking in a deep breath, he gave them all an encouraging smile, though his heart was screaming in agony. "Everything will turn out all right in the end," he assured them once again. Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus nodded solemnly in response. Harry glanced at Hermione, signaling their departure. They raised their wands to the Life-Alter, which they held together with their other hand. They both looked at the foursome for the last time.

"We'll see you around."

And the last thing James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus saw was a tear roll down both Harry and Hermione's pale cheeks.

* * *

The first thing that Hermione took note of was the feeling of air streaming past her. She was falling. Looking beside her she noticed Harry was in the same predicament. The next moment she heard someone give out a shout of surprise, and then strong arms enveloped her. The catcher buckled under her weight. 

Hermione with shaky breathing opened her eyes. For a moment, she saw sixteen-year-old Sirius Black holding her tightly. She blinked and the image faded away. Ron Weasley, with bright blue eyes widened in shock, was sitting on his leg at an odd angle, Hermione lying in his lap.

"Hermione?" he exclaimed. He sat there, his mouth agape, for several moments. "Hermione! You're back!" Both Ron and Hermione launched at each other, embracing the other in a death-by-hug embrace. Ron's shirt started to become soaked with Hermione's tears. "What happened?" Ron asked fearfully after they broke. "Where were you? Lupin said something about his years at Hogwarts. We were all worried sick about you. We had no idea what happened. Fred and George said something about midnight and you and Harry just disappearing. Oy! Where's Harry!" Ron looked wildly around.

"Right here," grumbled a female voice. Harry had not been caught by someone, but rather had landed on her. Ginny Weasley shoved Harry off of her seconds after he landed only to learn that his fall had sprained her wrist and had broken one of Harry's ribs. At the moment, she was anxiously crouching over Harry's almost unconscious form.

"Lily?" Harry asked in a quivering yet hopeful tone. His glasses had been knocked off at one point. Also, his head had unluckily collided sorely with the ground when he fell.

"No, it's me, Ginny," she said in a caring voice. Ginny brushed his messy hair out of his face and slipped his glasses on. She noted his tear-stained features. "What happened? Where were you two? Was Lupin right? Did you actually go back to 1978?"

"76, actually," said Hermione. She slid off of Ron's lap with pink cheeks. He gave a piteous moan.

"I—I think I broke my leg," explained Ron. They all looked at its odd location and nodded in agreement.

For the first time, Hermione and Harry gazed at their surroundings. They were back at Grimmauld Place. At the moment they rested in the main hallway. Everything around them screamed Dark, evil wizards. Near the front of the corridor hung Sirius's mother's portrait with the curtains pulled around it. The candles were glowing dully and obstinately, seeming that if they had it their way they would burn every inhabitant there into a pile of ashes. Cobwebs were laced throughout all the grotesque pictures and sculptures. The air itself was a tad bit musty. Heavy footsteps of an adult suddenly resounded throughout the corridor.

"HARRY! HERMIONE!" shrieked Mrs Weasley, running to Harry's side. "YOU'RE BACK!" But because of the loud sound, Mrs Black threw aside her caging curtains and began to shriek loutish things.

"_Horrible Mudbloods besmirching my home!_ _Blood traitors running amuck. How dare you defile_—"

"Shut _up!_"

A middle-aged man ran up to the portrait and gave the curtains a tug in vain. "Tonks! Help me with this, why don't you!" A violet, spiky haired witch ran up to his side moments later. The both of them managed to swing the curtains closed. They both panted and muttered a thank you before trotting to the two time-travelers' sides.

"Wotcher, Harry!" smiled Tonks. He could only manage a wince before looking upon a quite familiar face.

Remus Lupin, now twenty years older, was kneeling beside Hermione. His face held many more scars of his lycanthropy, death of close friends, and that pesky thing called time. His hair was certainly streaked with more grey. His eyes had grown harder and more pain-filled. He stared at Hermione with uneasiness.

"Are you all right?" he asked. His voice was filled with trepidation. Hermione paid no attention to him.

"Is he here?" she asked at once, ignoring everyone fussing about her. Hermione looked over her shoulder as if expecting to see someone. "Did he make it?"

"Who, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked. Remus held an odd face. Hermione noticed it.

"What?" she asked immediately. "What happened? What happened to Sirius? Is he here? Is he alive!" Her voice cracked with impatience and fear.

Remus just shook his head, lowering it down to his chin. "Hermione…" After a few breathless moments he gazed upon her again, his eyes solemn and slightly angered. "You should know better than to mess with time. Serious things could have happened. What did you tell Sirius?"

Hermione's breathing became sharp and uneven. She didn't believe what she was hearing. It took her a minute to answer. "I—I told him to listen to you." Her puffy eyes glared straight at him. "I told him to listen and take heed to what you told him. Why didn't you tell him not to go to the Department of Mysteries? _Why didn't you stop him?_"

"I always told you that she made you more commanding, Moony."

"Sirius!" yelped Hermione and Harry in unison, spinning around. (Harry gave a wince at his broken rib.)

Sirius Black was leaning over the railing at one of the closer landings. His long, black hair shone in the light. His eyes were now a tarnished silver, etched with twelve years of deep unhappiness and apathy. His clothes hung loosely on his frail build and the lights carved out his high cheek bones. Through his depressing demeanor, Sirius was beaming at the twosome. Turning suddenly, he bounded over five or six stairs at a time to reach them. He tripped over the last set and came tumbling beside them like an eager boy on Christmas morning. All three held each other close.

"You're alive," gasped Harry. "My God, you're alive! How did this happen?" Hermione didn't say anything but embraced him and Sirius tightly.

"Let us answer all the questions together at once," came a deep, bell-like voice from behind them. Headmaster Dumbledore had just entered from the kitchen, a peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwich in hand. He did not seem perturbed at their entrance. On the contrary, he acted as if they were late. "Once we get you three fixed up, we can all talk things over in a more cheerful room." He waved his wand over Harry, Ginny, and Ron. They were instantly cured of their minor pains. Harry's chest was still aching, though it had nothing to do with his ribs.

"Are my parents still—"

"Dead? I'm afraid so, Harry," muttered Sirius, helping his godson off the floor. He hugged him once more. Ron grabbed Hermione's hand and eased her up to her feet. She seemed shaky, so he grabbed her around the waist to steady her. They both started to walk like so toward the room Dumbledore had just entered when Sirius stopped them.

"I'll handle it from here," Sirius said to Ron quietly. Remus and Harry listened closer. Ron appeared rather hesitant, as if he would lose Hermione again if he let go. Sirius noted this, plus the jealous tint in his blue eyes, and quickly added, "It's okay." Ron, after casting a shrewd glare, let go and strode onward. Sirius put his hand where Ron's had been, steadying Hermione.

"I just wanted to thank you," he said gently. She kept her eyes adverted. "So, thank you for saving ole Siri's life. Again. I'm deeply in your debt." Hermione looked up at him with a pained, almost longing, expression. Her heart beat faster at their closeness. But seeing his eyes changed everything. Sirius, indeed, had changed dramatically over twenty years. He was not the same boy she fancied. Not at all.

"Thanks for catching me," Harry said to Ginny, scratching his head nervously though he didn't know why.

"It's not like I had much of a choice," laughed Ginny. She punched him lightly in the arm. For some odd reason, it left his skin burning. "Just don't make a habit of it… Where'd you get the scarf?" Ginny asked to break the silence.

Harry automatically reached toward his neck and fingered a crimson scarf. He stared at it for a long while. It was a "Potter scarf." Mrs Potter knitted one each year for every one of the Marauders. James Potter had once lent it to Harry to go outside for a snow fight. When Harry tried to return it to its original owner, James called it "a present from the past… Get it, present, past, heh heh." Harry's eyes refocused onto Ginny.

"My dad," he spoke softly.

"Oh." She didn't know what else to say, so she wrapped an arm around his waist. He stiffened for a moment, then leaned slightly into her embrace. "C'mon. Let's go." As they walked together, Ginny looked over her shoulder. "Hurry up, you two! I want some questions answered."

Sirius and Hermione glimpsed up to see Ginny laughing at them.

"Can you walk on your own?" Sirius asked Hermione.

"Yeah, I think I can," mumbled Hermione. Unexpectedly, she spun towards him. "Sirius, I must know—"

"To spend twelve years in Azkaban gives a guy a lot of time to think," Sirius said, reading her thoughts. "And trust me, I did a lot of thinking. It really puts things into perspective. I know this'll feel abrupt to you, but for me, it's been boiling inside me for twenty years. You left me when I was barely sixteen. I was young and foolish then, you know this. But I certainly did fancy you… a lot. Years went by and my feelings changed… considerably … So, as good-looking as I am at thirty-six, I don't think it'll work out—"

"I've been expecting this for three months now," sighed Hermione. "I mean, how could I think of anything else? Before Harry and I left, you and I didn't get along so well. I won't describe the specifics, but you're right. You have changed. You are not Sirius Black, the charming rebel anymore. You're Sirius Black, the ex-convict—"

"Oy," barked Sirius suddenly with an air of dignity. "My name's been cleared, if you must know." A playful smile danced around his mouth.

"Who has matured into an adult," finished Hermione, grinning too. She looked up to see Ron waiting in the door frame for them. Hermione faltered. "You didn't happen to tell Ron about us, did you?"

"No," said Sirius. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "Remus did. Including himself, too, of course." He laughed at Hermione's horror-stricken face. He gave her one more hug. "I'm glad to see you again, Hermione. Now go catch up with that Weasley kid. Personally, I think you can do better, but he'll do for now." He gave Hermione a wink before pushing the furiously pink girl ahead.

A hand patted Sirius on the shoulder. The black-haired man spun around to find Remus smiling at him. "What?" Sirius asked uncomfortably. He never liked that grin.

"You've grown-up, Padfoot," smirked Remus.

"You've finally noticed that after twenty years?" asked Sirius.

"Just about." Remus thumped his friend on the back. He started to push his friend forward. He had on his wrinkled face a lost-in-thought smile. "James would be proud." Sirius whipped his head upwards and surveyed his friend with round eyes. He found that Remus had on a wide grin, one that he had not seen in almost twenty years. Sirius smiled back, slung his arm on Remus's shoulders, and staggered towards the room.

* * *

Dumbledore looked around at everyone: Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Tonks, Moody, Mundungus (who was steadily slipping into unconsciousness in a chair), Remus, Sirius, Harry and Hermione. Snape, however, was not called to this meeting, and when asked why by Harry, Dumbledore evasively said that _Professor_ Snape had other, more important matters to attend to. The Headmaster's face had fallen slightly at the mention of it. 

Before Dumbledore started, Fred and George walked up to Harry and Hermione. They both looked slightly abashed.

"We just want to say," George began.

"Sorry," said Fred.

"For causing you two to jump back in time."

"We just wanted to see who was awake."

"It's okay," said Harry.

"It was just an accident," Hermione said.

"Yeah, I guess," said Fred.

"And you got Sirius back alive," added George.

"That's good, isn't it?"

At that moment, though, Dumbledore turned towards everyone, ready to speak. Fred and George took their places in the back .

"Harry and Hermione found a letter from Sirius describing a very dark instrument, the Life-Alter. It has two purposes, to bring back a recently deceased person by using the dark yet powerful _Redivivus_ Spell. The other is to travel back and forth in time. This past evening, they decided to bring back Sirius, who had apparently died in the battle at the Department of Mysteries. By either fate or coincidence, they traveled back to the year 1976. It just so happens that James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape were students at that time. The Life-Alter died in the process of their time-traveling, and Harry and Hermione were stuck there.

"Am I right so far?" he asked Harry and Hermione.

The twosome nodded.

"So they lived from September to December back in 76, going to classes, doing their homework, going to Hogsmeade. In short, they lived their daily lives back there. Another Life-Alter had to be made, which left them thinking that their stay would last all year. Fortunately, I came across one after four months of searching. They are rather rare devices.

"I must say that I caught on quickly to Harry's urgency to come back here to this time. I did not know the deals, I did not know that he was indeed 'The Boy Who Lived' or 'The Chosen One,' but that he was a key figure in the future, or what is now the present.

"And it was not only Harry who was jeopardizing the future. I won't mention details, but feelings were being shared in the past that should not have been." Remus and Sirius, rather embarrassed, bowed their heads while Hermione looked quickly away to hide her reddened cheeks. "They left almost too early and almost too late. If it had been just two regular students, I would have sent them back exactly twenty years later, so they would not have to repeat the first half of their sixth year. But since it was Mr Harry Potter, I decided otherwise."

Ron gave Harry a nudge and wink, whispering "Lucky you."

"So now Harry and Hermione are back just twelve hours after they left, though it will seem to them four months since they were last here. To everyone else, be mindful. Things may have changed because of them, and they are unaware of it." All Dumbledore saw was confused expressions. "Harry and Hermione will have a different memory of this past summer because they lived through it with having Sirius dead. We all know that never happened. Therefore, our memories of summer will be poles apart." Their confusion only lifted the slightest bit. "You'll get used to it. So if Harry and Hermione start to go on about something that never happened, be kind and quietly set them right." The headmaster's eyes flashed over to Fred and George.

"Any other questions?"

"Sir, what ever happened to the Masquerade Ball?"

Dumbledore smiled at Hermione. "That is a story one of the, ahem, _Marauders_ can tell you, since they play an important role in that story." Remus sighed and rolled his eyes while Sirius let out his bark-like laugh. When Hermione looked expectantly at them, Sirius answered, "Maybe it should be saved for another time," eyeing Mrs Weasley with her hands on her hips.

"If that is all," Dumbledore said, then giving a pause. No one else spoke. "All right. Harry, if you could come over here. I have some important matters to talk to you about the past summer's events, and what we still must do. Now, have you ever heard of a man named Horace Slughorn?..."

Meanwhile, some people began to shuffle out of the room. Mrs Weasley whacked Mundungus over the head with Mr Weasley's newspaper to wake him up. Tonks stumbled into a chair, steadying herself by grabbing Remus's arm. Both turned slightly pink. Moody staggered over to Sirius. He clapped him on the back.

"I guess I should say 'Welcome back,' with you being dead and all," Moody growled before letting out a laugh. Sirius gave a chuckle, for he knew better than to not laugh at one of Moody's jokes, even if it wasn't that funny.

"Maybe you all should throw me a return from the dead party," returned Sirius. Much to Sirius's dismay, Moody laughed even harder and clunked towards Mrs Weasley to spread the idea.

Sirius was about to moan and trot after Moody to cancel the plans when he felt someone's strong gaze upon him. He turned to find Hermione's gaze from across the room. Memories came crashing down upon Sirius that he had not visited since Azkaban.

Seeing Hermione for the first time, lying in his arms. The detention they were in. The pang of jealousy when Hermione and Kyle were together. Singing for her at the ball. Jealousy flaring up again whenever she and Remus were together. Sirius and Hermione running down the streets of Hogsmeade, laughing their heads off. Hermione carrying his limp body to the Hospital Wing after his fall off the tower. Everyone sitting in a circle for Marauders Dares, both repeatedly glancing at each other. Hermione finally kissing him. Sirius yelling at her for the death of a relative. Them hugging and making up again. The twosome walking down the halls together, hand in hand. Hermione kissing him good bye. Everyone lined up in Dumbledore's office. Hermione and Harry disappearing out of thin air.

Sirius remembered being moody for weeks afterwards. Sirius had never met a girl like Hermione. But the weeks passed, and Hermione shrank farther and farther from his thoughts. He soon began to date again. Sirius almost had her completely out of his mind by the time James and Lily got married. Once baby Harry was born, though, memories of Hermione (and Harry) came flooding back. But the death of Sirius's two best friends knocked her out of his thoughts for good. Only when the Dementors in Azkaban ripped away all of his happy memories was he reminded of her. But Sirius was older. He didn't think of her romantically any more. She had touched his heart, yes, but no more than that. When he finally broke out from Azkaban and saw Hermione again (in her third year) his breath wasn't taken away. Old feelings didn't spring up. She was a insufferable, know it all, thirteen year old. She was his godson's friend. No more, no less. As Sirius watched her grow up, his feelings remained dormant. She was just a good memory. That was all.

Hermione was unaware of everyone else moving out of the discussion room. She had to look at Sirius one last time. He had changed so much that it made her heart ache. Twelve years of torture tore away the Sirius she had loved. Now there was just a mere shell of him, a reflection. He was bitter now, rash, slightly deadened, temperamental, not to mention unkempt. All the spark and fire that he once held inside of him had diminished over the years. It was sad, really.

Hermione must have been pointedly watching him because Sirius soon turned away from Moody to gaze at her. The effect was next to zero. Once upon a time, when they held eye contact, they had been electrified. There were left breathless. Now Hermione felt nothing more than she would looking at Mr Weasley.

Their knowing gaze lasted minutes. Finally, Ron came up to Hermione, trying to usher her out of the room. Hermione looked one more time at Sirius. He grinned and gave a slight nod of the head. Across the busy room she returned the nod before walking out with Ron. Hermione's face cracked into a light smile; she had lost the boy she loved, but gained the friendship of a man who was now alive because of her love.

The End.

* * *

Author's Note. 

It's done. That's it. That's all. Wow. No more "Saving Siri."

I hope you all have enjoyed these twenty months with me and my writing. I sure did.

Please review. I'm begging you. If you've read this story and you've never posted before (and I know you all are out there!), just once, please review. I don't care if you just type "Jolly good job" as long as I know you've read it. Do that for me, please. I've gone through almost two years of writing this rather long story. All I want in return is a pat on the back if you like it or if you don't like it a smack on the head.

Just in case you wanted to know, every single chapter I've posted that describes the "present day" after Harry and Hermione left and before they came back…. They "have been erased from time." They are still posted, but since Harry and Hermione came back just hours after they left, the present chapters are impossible. If it doesn't make sense, tell me, and I'll try to explain it better.

If you have any other questions, things that will annoy you until they are answered, **write them in your review**. I am going to post another entry, but not a chapter! No, it will have all the answers to any questions you have.

As for a sequel………………..No. I couldn't for a few reasons. One: I tried as best as I could to end this story so it could possibly go into book six. Bit of a stretch, but hey. I tried. Two: I am, and have been since book one, an avid Hermione/Ron and Harry/Ginny "shipper." Sirius and Hermione don't work out for me, especially when he is older. Not because of the age difference! I'm fine with that. I just don't think it could happen. Why did I write this story then? A clear Sirius/Hermione story? Because I wanted to write about Harry and Hermione, but also about the Marauders. Three: I am working on two other Harry Potter stories. Before you all get too excited, I plan to write them, and then post them. I learned from this story that it is better to have everything planned out and written, then post it. I have a rather indecisive mind, and I always try to change the plot mid-story. I might post them, but it will be in a very long time. (One will be a very very very very very long story. I plan to write out the entire history of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Lily Evans, Severus Snape, and Regulus Black. Their years at Hogwarts from day one clear up to book six. Hell, it's going to be long.) So if I were you, I wouldn't be expecting it ANY time soon. The other one is a romance for, you guessed it, the Marauders (Sirius mostly). It is still a work in progress.

Thanks to all that wished me luck on my tap dance performance. The first one had some technical difficulties. But it just kept getting better and better until—PERFECTO:)

172,284 words of just this story (not counting all the author's notes it has). Typed up on my laptop, it is 510 pages. 32 chapters. One story. Wow. Let's just take a moment………………………………………… And our moment is done!

Remember, I expect one review from every single reader. Thank you all once again for sticking with me. It has been great. Thanks.

- Accio Flaming Stake


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